Movie Review & Giveaway: Maze Runner--The Scorch Trials

Just about a year ago, I wrote about The Maze Runner, the first movie adaptation of James Dashner's trilogy of the same name. Tomorrow, the second installment, The Scorch Trials, will be available in DVD/BluRay and streaming.

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to participate in a viewing of The Scorch Trials and a Twitter chat with author James Dashner. I enjoyed watching this action-packed film along with fans from around the world. It's always fun to see what grabs other people's attention, from the sets to the acting and the plot. From Dashner's tweets it's obvious he's well pleased with the movie version of his popular novel.

The movie, directed by Wes Ball, stars Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who are teens out to save the world from the people who took away their memories and seem to be conducting evil medical experiments (Patricia Clarkson and Aidan Gillen). Here's the summary from Twentieth Century Fox:

In this next chapter of the epic Maze Runner saga, Thomas (O'Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD's vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

The Scorch Trials is a fast-moving film that is heavy on the action (chases, battles) while conveying the deep emotions of the characters (friendships, grief, betrayal). The filming was well done, and the sets were imaginative and believable. I was particularly impressed with the sound track, which added to the tension. Of course, Gillen plays the perfect bad guy, and Clarkson oozes smug superiority. All the teen actors also do a great job, especially O'Brien and Brodie-Sangster.

Take a look at the trailer:

The Giveaway

Thanks to the nice people at Think Jam and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, I'm able to offer one of my readers with a USA mailing address a copy of the DVD/BluRay of The Scorch Trials. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner, using a random number generator, on December 21. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!