Review: Latest 'Maze Runner' lacks urgency of original

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wes Ball's adaptation of the first book from James Dashner's "Maze Runner" young adult novels, about a group of teens consigned to a mysterious labyrinth, yielded a feature that proved it could compete for the same audience as the "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" series.

Confronting WCKD and exposing its oppressive policies becomes the teens' primary mission in "The Scorch Trials," but this imperative increasingly diverges from the realm of speculative fiction that forms the basis of the book series in favor of an action-adventure format.

[...] free of their maze after suffering several significant casualties, the Gladers are confronted by the widespread breakdown of social order following a series of unprecedented solar events that have overheated the Earth's surface critically and decimated many terrestrial ecosystems.

A significant portion of "The Scorch Trials" is devoted to filling in the narrative gaps essential to maintaining the veil of mystery that characterized "The Maze Runner" and the Gladers' ignorance surrounding their incarceration.

Cinematically, Ball attempts to sustain engagement by providing each successive setting with a different combination of threats and distinctive stylistic treatment, borrowing from drama, thriller and horror genres.

The Scorch Trials, a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for extended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance use and language.