Having already seen the first installment of the Maze Runner trilogy last year, I walked into the chilly Celebration Cinema theater confident that I would be able to flawlessly remember the plot. I was sadly mistaken as the first scene began of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and I sat in confusion. Besides the lack of recap that took place before the story was in full swing, the movie had a mediocre plot line, effective special effects and acting that was strong in some areas and weak in others.

According to synonym.com, there are three elements of Science Fiction that need to be considered, each just as important as the rest.

The first element is speculation, the “what if” of the plot. So what if our future was destined to be plagued with a disease that slowly deteriorates your body and there are very few people that can be the cure? This speculation is what The Scorch Trials is centered around and is one that had the potential to be such an intriguing story. Much to my disappointment, the movie’s outline was less interesting and more of a never-ending series of rapid fire action scenes. In fact, the whole movie was one big action scene in itself with a few too many antagonists, to the point where it was no longer exciting when needed

The second element is science impacts. The Scorch Trials did a nice job of blending science and horrific fantasy by utilizing special effects and futuristic, shiny props. Scientific terminology was tossed around in the script enough so that you remembered that this story was taking place in the future as well as the eminent doom of this mysterious disease taking over the already sparse population.

And lastly, the third element is setting. Having the movie set in a distopic society was made abundantly clear by the crumbled city juxtaposed by the blinking, sterile setting of the enemy home-base.

The actors used in The Scorch Trials was a mix of big-wig professionals and fresh-faced newbees. Each brought something to the table and made you feel the same emotions they were supposed to be feeling. The sadness, the happiness, the fear all were deeply experience by the audience as much as the characters.

So, was The Scorch Trials worth $11.50? Probably not. Would it have been worth the watch on Netflix? Sure, on a rainy day. But my advice is to save some money, save some gas, and save some time and don’t rush to the theater to catch this flick.