Wes Ball’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials was released on Friday Sept. 18 as the second movie of The Maze Runner film series.

Beginning immediately after the previous movie The Maze Runner, protagonist Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, and his companions are rescued from WCKD (World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department), an organization that originally placed them in a maze as test subjects to collect their immunity and to feed a virus called “the Flare.” Arriving in a refugee compound filled with other maze survivors, they encounter Mr. Janson, played by Aidan Gillen. Although he appears to be an ally to the maze runners, Janson is later revealed to be an associate with WCKD and continuously attempts to leach the protagonists of their immunity through tests conducted in their hideout.

Making an escape from the testing enclosure, Thomas and the other survivors escape into a burning barren wasteland called “the Scorch,” which begins their strenuous fight for survival with exhilarating action-packed scenes.

In contrast to the prior film of the Maze Runner saga, the plot of the newer release launches into ceaseless combat through encounters with creatures and villains, with mishaps that threaten the lives of the six original maze survivors. Not only does the mood and tone of the story differ from the first installment, but the 131-minute picture is jam-packed with scenes that vary from zombie attacks to the group’s laborious search for assistance from the Right Hand, a possibly imaginary association.

While The Maze Runner builds tension and expectation for its succeeding movie through a well-established plot, The Scorch Trials does not have a typical storyline with a beginning, middle, and end. Instead, it consists of a plotless adventure that provides the viewers with zero character development or advancement in the storyline established in the previous film. Though this trilogy is yet to come to an end, some audience members left theatres with mixed reactions to the second installment of whether they enjoyed the thrilling scenes of this movie, or disliked the lack of plot development and resemblance to the original book.

“If you read the book, it’s not really enjoyable as much. Most of the scenes were different, but the main plot was similar to the original,” Charley Huang (10) said.

The final release and conclusion of The Maze Runner series will appear on screens in 2017.