The world of James Dashner’s post-apocalyptic thriller book series always felt better suited for the screen than the page, and director Wes Ball continues to adapt it into something that delivers solid action momentum. This time around, the young survivors of the maze—Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) and company—learn more about those who have been manipulating them, ostensibly to find a cure for the virus that turned most humans into homicidal zombies. That outside world offers more opportunities for high-energy set-pieces than
The Maze Runner, between escapes from the enigmatic WCKD and the infected “Cranks,” plus some intriguing moral complexity as the protagonists wrestle with individual survival vs. the actions that may be required to find a cure. It’s a bit of a rambling story, and the relative blandness of the main characters comes into sharp focus when actors like Alan Tudyk and Giancarlo Esposito show up. But genre fare of this kind can prove satisfying if made by people who understand that there’s really no excuse for screwing up a movie with abandoned cityscapes, secret armed rebellions and screeching zombie-things.
By
Scott Renshaw