THE MAZE RUNNER
Director: Wes Ball
Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Dexter Darden, Kaya Scodelario, Chris Sheffield, Joe Adler, Alexander Flores, Jacob Latimore, Randall D. Cunningham, Patricia Clarkson
Rating: B-
After the wild success of THE HUNGER GAMES, a series of films geared towards young adults, it is no big surprise that many filmmakers want in on a piece of the pie when it comes to making films for the “30 and under” demographic. Since THE HUNGER GAMES there have been an abundance of sci-fi adventure films featuring youngsters on a quest to overcome impossible obstacles. The latest endeavor to cash in the box office dollars is THE MAZE RUNNER. The action packed film is a mixture of RESIDENT EVIL, LORD OF THE FLIES, and DIVERGENT. Based on novels written by James Dashner, the story follows a group of young men plus one girl on a mission to escape an outdoor wooded prison entombed inside a maze that changes patterns every few hours.
The film opens with Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) stuck in an elevator moving upward at the speed of light. Completely confused and struggling with memory loss, Thomas finds himself being pulled out of the elevator by a group of baby-faced guys saying he’s now a permanent resident of the Glade. The boys inhabiting this region call themselves The Gladers and have created a society divided into groups (similar to what audiences saw in HARRY POTTER, DIVERGENT and THE HUNGER GAMES) based on skills and talents each person brings to the table. The fastest of the group, called runners, are responsible for entering into the maze every morning in search of a way out. Their speed and agility make them ideal candidates to outwit the ever-changing maze.
Thomas crosses paths with the group’s gentle leader Alby (Aml Ameen), and Gully (Will Poulter) who doubts and does not trust Thomas and only sees him as a threat to the Gladers’ existence.
Much of the first part of the film is spent on learning the dynamics of the male group as they brawl, argue, and challenge each other’s authority. The banter back and forth between the troupe of youthful men is quite funny at times. The movie starts off action-packed as the boys are putting their heads together to find an escape from the outdoor jail they inhabit. Adding to their challenges are outwitting and defending themselves against hideous wild monsters guarding the maze called “Grievers.” The storyline up to this point is pretty entertaining and engaging.
The film takes a bit of dive and slows down with the introduction of Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), a mysterious young women carrying a vile containing some sort of vaccine. She immediately recognizes Thomas and does not seem to suffer from the same memory loss as the rest of the residences of the Glade. The film tries to give explanation of why Teresa has been thrown into the mix of boys but the explanation only succeeds in slowing the film down. However, it does turn out that Teresa is the catalyst that will help unlock Thomas’s memory.
The cast of the film is actually very strong. Playing Alby, Aml Ameen pulls off the calm, collected, logically thinking leader very nicely. Will Poulter plays the paranoid, unwelcoming, and controlling Gully to the hilt and makes a great impression in the movie. Dylan O’Brien pops as Thomas, well cast in the lead and carrying out the role of the young hero with aggression and gusto. The up-and-coming actor shoulders most of the weight of the story and does a nice job of holding the film together. Kaya Scodelario’s role is really just a waste of time and her character was just not needed in the film. It is a shame because had her Teresa been given something to do the storyline could have been developed into something much more complex. The supporting cast also holds their own as the group becomes divided and disheveled once the order of things start to unravel.
Adding to the movie are some great visual effects. The ever changing Maze accomplishes the goal of giving the audience that feeling of dread and foreboding. You almost want to scream at the cast and tell them “Don’t go in there!!” Adding to the feeling of terror are the disgusting and incredibly ugly Grievers. The visual effects of creating these overgrown half spiders and half machine-looking creatures are pretty horrific and disgusting. The nasty creatures snarl with sharp teeth, drool disgusting slime, and give a high pitched irritating scream. So mission accomplished – the Grievers are pretty darn scary. There are nail biting scenes of runners racing in and out of the maze that are pretty intense and will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Not surprisingly THE MAZE RUNNER is one big set up for a sequel. Why stop at one film if you can somehow churn out a few more and squeeze just a few more million out of thrill seeking moviegoers.
The sad part is that a movie that started off at rocket speed starts coming to a grinding halt in the last 20 minutes. There are attempts at giving explanations of why the motley crew was banished to the forest but the explanations are not clear and if anything will leave a person scratching their head in confusion.
It also does not make sense how runners who spent a few years mapping out the maze now have someone like Thomas, who has only just arrived, figuring out how to out maneuver the puzzle. Thomas’s mixed up explanation of who he and why he was sent to the Glade (once his memory returns) makes almost no sense. There is an acronym in the movie, WCKD, that is repeated over and over again but no real explanation of what it means – just another confusing point to ponder. Then there is the issue of the Grievers. Yes – no doubt – the creatures are very threatening but we have no idea where they came from or why they are half machine. Perhaps those that read the books by James Dashner will understand all this but those of us who did not read the novels won’t be able to decipher any of it.
Although the cast does a pretty good job, the acting does not quite accomplish the emotional connection that moviegoers felt when watching THE HUNGER GAMES or even HARRY POTTER. You really felt for the plight of characters in those films. Somehow in THE MAZE RUNNER the emotional pull the film is trying to give comes across as a bit bland.
This is initially is a film that shows great promise but unfortunately by the end starts falling apart as the narrative attempts to explain itself away. There are so many loose/untied ends that aren’t even worth the effort to figure out. And, after all, we all know a sequel is coming so why bother exercising our brains trying to understand the unsolved mysteries of the storyline. THE MAZE RUNNER is not a bad experience, it just falls short of being really good. Hopefully Wes Ball and his team will be able to put together a stronger sequel so movie watchers don’t feel like they are trying to escape a maze of confusion.
