The Maze Runner (Review)

The Maze Runner (2014)

Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Wes Ball

Hollywood has had an infatuation with adapting young adult novels into movies as of late, whether it be multiple book franchises or single one-off's like last years The Fault in Our Stars we are at the point where we are seeing multiple of them a year. Can you blame them though? After the success of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games franchises audiences now know that you can make these properties easily accessible to everyone and with that make an easy buck. One of the most recent of these attempts to cash in on the YA revolution is The Maze Runner, released just last September and based off the series of books by James Dashner. The film opened with a decent weekend and went on to make almost $350 million worldwide on a $34 million budget, but I felt like I never heard anyone talk about it and that's a shame. I found it to be a breathe of fresh air in a crowded sub-genre and although the story has its cliches they do wonderful work to separate it from all the other films of its kind. 

The plot is simple and wastes no time getting into it. The opening shot is of our main character, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) riding up an elevator shaft as he wakes up cold and sweaty without any idea of where, or who he is. He has been sent, seemingly against his will to a small colony of young men and boys who have been living in a Lord of the Flies type scenario. We quickly find out it is slightly more complicated than that though as the community is blockaded by a giant cement wall and there is only one way out, the maze. Through the one and only opening in this wall, which closes every night, they have the choice to enter the maze and hopefully find a way out of this place. They have been searching and mapping the maze for three years however and have yet to find any real clues to a way out. That is until Thomas arrives at the camp and things quickly begin to change, he decides it is time for these kids to finally bust out of this place and get some answers. 

Why this movie was basically shrugged off last fall I have no idea, it is a smart and highly intense action thriller that incorporates everything we love in our favorite R rated films and boils it down for a younger audience. Rather than create a crazy apocalyptic or fantastical setting just to drive a silly teen romance story, this movie focuses solely on survival and these kids desire to be free. This is made easier by the fact that they are community entirely composed of males, but even when a female is tossed into the story in the second act it doesn't throw their ambitions. They don't all immediately halt what they are doing in order to try and woo the new girl, who is actually the first girl any of them will have a memory of ever seeing. They get that survival is whats important, not falling in love while the world dies. This also allows Kaya Scodelario's character to be more than a goofy love interest, it's refreshing to see a girl in these kinds of movies not have to fall in love with someone. 

What makes this first installment in the franchise so enjoyable is the characters and the actors playing them. With a cast composed entirely of young adults and kids this film has the acting chops of a serious ensemble cast and creates the atmosphere of the film. These kids have incredible chemistry and because of that you believe in their society and their sense of loyalty that in real life can only be created through shared life experience. Dylan O'Brien puts in an incredible performance as Thomas and the movie hinges on him, his story is what gets these kids to finally pull the trigger on trying to escape after being trapped for nearly three years. Will Poulter (We're the Millers), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones), and Ki Hong Lee (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) add solid support and their characters are what make this film so interesting and compelling.   

This is a story about their journey, not the destination and I know I have seen some people unhappy with the ending of the film. Well, its a book adaptation and it has a book ending and I couldn't love that more. You go to see this movie to see the maze and what the kids do with it, and in that respect this film succeeds entirely. Outside of all the wonderful performances and decently original story-line they also manage to squeeze in plenty of intense action scenes and some beautiful monsters. This is where the movie truly impressed me, where many of the other YA adaptations will tone down the violence and the death The Maze Runner goes into head on. In the maze are a deadly breed of creature called Grievers and when they attack, it is viscous. For a PG-13 YA adaption this film is more violent and graphic than any other of its kind. 

With The Hunger games franchise coming to a close, very John Green book in existence getting adapted, and The Divergent series going this film finds itself lost in the crowd but I suggest seeking it out. Although it may be trying to capitalize on the Hunger Games money, this is a movie that sets itself apart from all of these other properties and does something completely different. Yeah, the story has some cliches and is playing off the classic novel Lord of the Flies but it finds ways to make the story fresh when it needs to be. I love that they don't use this as a vehicle for a romance but instead to show a journey of youth and what they are capable of when faced with dire circumstances. This in turn keeps the film from having very many dull moments, from the moment he leaves the crate in the beginning to the final frames you are hooked into the story, wanting to know what will happen next. The next installment of the franchise, Scorch Trials comes out in just over a month and the previews look pretty cool. After finally checking out the first movie I find myself quite excited for round two with these guys. 



As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!