This movie was tremendous. It was better than the book, which was weak. Everyone I know loves the entire trilogy. Watch it if you haven't already. Loved it.

Sure, it needs some color and humor, but it's got solid performances and unexpectedly strong visual direction to support the post-apocalyptic adventure writing. Easily the best of the teen film series'...outside of the big ones of course (HP, HG).

Since The Maze Runner: The Death Cure came out two weeks ago, I'm going to review the second installment of The Maze Runner franchise that started with the first one. The original Maze Runner deviated from the young-adult romance trope that plagued the recent adaptations after Twilight ended and it received mixed-to-positive reviews. While fans of the book series either hated it or found it ok, it was considered by many to be a much better young-adult adaptation. It had mystery, it had thrills, it had action and it had emotion. People liked it and so did I. Then, a year later back in 2015, I saw the sequel hoping it would live up to the first film, but while it was a decent enough sequel, it did disappoint me and I understand the mixed reaction from both critics and fans of the second book "The Scorch Trials".There are some positives that worked in the film. The cinematography is really gorgeous including the buildings and the actual desert, not to mention it's solid make-up and CGI effects on the Cranks. 61 million dollars went into the production and much like the first film, it was well spent. John Paesano, who scored the first film, did another solid job in delivering the same stuff he did from the atmosphere to the action music. Wes Ball, who directed the first film, delivered another top-notch direction. Also, the acting continues to be great with Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Alexander Flores, Ki Hong Lee, and Patricia Clarkson continuing to deliver excellent performances as did the new supporting cast including Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Tudyk, Rosa Salazar, and Aidan Gillen as the Rat Man, Jorge, and Brenda. And then, there's the action sequences which are more intense and action-packed including the chase scenes. Those set pieces alone are worth watching if anyone else checks the movie out on DVD.That being said, there are some drawbacks that disappointed those who loved the first film and the book series. First, there's the writing, which sadly does feel a bit weak and borrows sources from other zombie-genre related stuff. Not only that, it deviated from the second book despite having some bits of elements which caused an outrage to fans. Also, while the film delivered on the action and thrills, it lacked the mystery and emotion that made the first film work. Not to mention the plot and character development were severely lacking. The new characters were well introduced, but no depth was given to them. Then, there's the pacing which is sadly another weak element to the film. I don't mind two hour films but only when they have development for the characters. The original film had brisk pacing and took it's time for Thomas to interact with the other Gladers and becoming a really great leader and those characters were the ones you cared about. There's some of it here but not enough considering the weak writing and it's deviation from the source material.Overall, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is a decent enough sequel and it delivered what it promised in the trailers, but sadly, it wasn't nearly as engaging as the first film. I haven't seen The Death Cure yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it would be an improvement. 3/5

I have not read the books, but from what I've read, this completely flies away from the original plot. But because I don't know the books, I will give my opinion on the movie alone. It is way more boring than the the first part plus all the action is concentrated in a long run away from the WCKD, which I did not like. The ending of the first one was pretty emotional with the death of Chuck, which felt like the movie succeeded in most of the aspects. But this one did not deliever the same way. The fact that the movie is full of zombies running everywhere like in the most of the cliche zombie films ruined the feeling for me. 6/10