Oh, how I yearn to see a film that isn’t a sequel, prequel, reboot, or book adaptation. No matter how much I like this year’s film lineup so far, there’s little doubt that most of the movies that have come out this year fall into one of those categories. Where’s the original ideas? Where’s the new blood? Not here, because lo and behold, this movie falls into two of those categories. Yippee.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the sequel to 2014’s Maze Runner, which was a decent popcorn flick with some strong performances and a refreshingly original atmosphere, considering how boring and cliched the recent Young Adult Movies or “YAM”s (a term used to describe films that are adaptations of teen novels into film, like the Hunger Games) have become recently. So how does the sequel plan to go about things? Will it expand on the originality of the original? Unfortunately… no. Instead, The Scorch Trials tries its very best to become as unoriginal and cliched as possible. I just can’t wait (sigh).

The Scorch Trials follows the gang from the first film, including Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), and Minho (Ki Hong Lee), as they have finally escaped the dreaded Maze they had been trapped in. Now they realize that the world had been ravaged by a deadly disease, leading the last corporate organisation, WCKD (why not make it even more obvious that they’re the bad guys by literally calling them “wicked”?) to create a large maze in order to test the youth and challenge them to find a cure.

At least, that’s how much I got from the movie. The ending of the Maze Runner didn’t make much sense, and this movie does absolutely nothing to explain that ending — in fact, they actually made it even more confusing. Like every YAM (let’s just call them that), the sequel makes the story more confusing than necessary. Divergent did it, Twilight did it. True, The Hunger Games did not, which is why Catching Fire was so good.

What I’m getting at here is that the tropes of Young Adult Movies have become overused, cliched, and downright boring. I can describe almost every YAM in a few points: 1) a group of teens is trapped in a situation that becomes dangerous; 2) the main character is quirky; but it is that very quirkiness that makes them heroic; and 3). the hero / heroine must fight against an oppressive government/organisation. Many YAMs turn into trilogies, with sequels that make the story more confusing, often adding a conspiracy. After a while, it’s same old, same old.

So I’m calling it now: After the final Maze Runner and Divergent films come out, the trend of these Young Adult Movies will finally come to a close. Hopefully, Young Adult books will no longer be turned into movies because the creators will realize how bad these movies have become. Then again, teens like to spend money and filmmakers like to make money, so maybe this is wishful thinking, on my part.

Okay, let’s go back to the movie (as much as I don’t want to). Don’t think that I absolutely hate this movie — there is enjoyment to be had here. The acting is serviceable in this movie — nothing oscar-worthy, but nothing particularly bad, either. Also, one action scene stands out among the many boring ones, and involves a falling building. I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that my heart was absolutely pounding during that moment. If only I didn’t have to go back to the rest of the film after that.

The soundtrack, as well, is another high point. Composed by John Paesano, a relatively unknown composer, the soundtrack is gripping, far more than the film it represents, at least.

In the end, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is a cliched teen flick with barely enough originality to make it stand out. There is some good action and some decent performances, but in the end, you won’t remember half of this movie in a few days. I’ll slap on 2 out of 5 stars, with one concession: if you liked the first film or the book, you may find more enjoyment in this movie than I did.