The laws of gravity have fallen into place, by this I mean the world with which YA novels dictate a sequel. Of course, THOSE films probably need to tune a nice profit for their respective studio. So when The Maze Runner, a consistently energetic tension building romp, made big bucks in the drought of September last year a sequel was going to happen. As is the case with most YA franchises: there never is just one. Although, after watching Scorch Trials, I must admit all these films are starting to mesh together, and at this point I probably couldn’t tell you my Divergent from my Katniss Everdeen. Or maybe that’s just the lack of any tension thereof mixed with a ridiculous zombie plotline that is the sole reason Scorch Trials stumbles out of the gate. Then again it does get style points, I mean we have to expect less, it is a sequel after all.

The plot itself does move very swiftly from one moment to the next (usually). Based on the second novel by James Dashner, the movie is enact with similar ideas from the first. Young people caught in an oppressive world and confined by the man. instead this time there is no glade, it’s ‘the scorch’. The problem arises when our characters (played by returning comrades Dylan O’Brien, Ki Hong Lee, and Kayla Scodelario) are forced into exploring new unmarked territory. This ‘territory’ being an Earth that was decimated by a solar flare.

In the first Maze Runner, at least for the first two thirds of the film, we hardly cared much about the world outside of the glade. The boys were just stitched together by an unmarked force. There was an essence of Lord Of The Flies which lasted throughout the picture. So it’s a shame to note, but most of that tension is stripped from Scorch Trials. The characters in the maze were enough to tell a compelling story all it’s own, which it certainly did. So instead of building upon the relationships, we are stuck with another loose sequel that does little to register itself. This sequel, of course, being the bridge between the first and last book, was already at a disadvantage, however, it still can be done (think: Hunger Games: Catching Fire).

A strength which lies in the picture, much like the first, is the pacing. The audience is thrusted into this world immediately with barely anytime to register what exactly is occurring. The first act is very compelling because, we as smart audience members knows that something BAD is happening we just can’t quite put our fingers on it. Unless you read the book .. in which case you’re probably better of.

I digress.

It isn’t long after the boys arrive at their new ‘home’ do they escape the clutches of evil (in the form of Janson (Aidan Gillen) playing a fun role). This is where the obscurity ensues. The film loses that pacing for a slouchy middle act, slow exposition, and a few cool sequences that we have seen in ANY other movie of it’s kind. Oh and zombies, because WHY NOT.

Director Wes Ball gets the most out of his fine young performers (they all do solid work) their just isn’t enough substance to propel Scorch Trials above the normal tier of second rate YA novel adaptations. That said – enough is laid out on the pages that I can maybe muster a ‘rent it’ on my recommendation scale, but anymore than that, and you probably will wish you could be stuck in the maze all over again. Grade: C+