The Maze Runner Review

Story - Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. A new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "The Glade" for two years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space. They have begun to give up hope. Then a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change. There are some great, fast-paced action scenes, particularly those involving the nightmarish Grievers who plague the boys.

I will admit when I first saw the trailer of "The Maze Runner" I thought this will be your average film. However leaving the theater I wanted to see it again. This film is living proof of don't judge a film by it's trailer. I had a very entertaining time watching the film. The story is not perfect and it does have a few cliches, but for the most part I found myself truly immerse in this world and the characters plight. What kept me intrigued is the mystery behind the maze. Why were these kids put in this place? Why and how did they lose their memory? Who put them there in the first place and why? These questions are raised in the film and thankfully answer through great detail. The story has done a great job of pacing, making sure that almost every scene has a point or enriches the main protagonist Thomas character arc. Each character that does get enough backstory or screen-time I found myself relating to them in someway. Thomas (played by Dylan O'Brien) is the type of guy who wants to escape from The Glade. He is the idealist who believes that somehow through sheer will they will be able to find the answers their looking for. His character brings hope and faith to a group that has lost all sense of it due to the three year time period they spent there. Each character has their own set of views and ideals, and it's nice to see how Thomas reacts to it with his own sets of ideals. While I enjoy the characterization and the pacing, I found the chemistry between the actors to be great l across the board as well. Will Poulter who plays Gally was very interesting character, because his character has lost all hope and he has become accustomed to ways of The Glades that he conflicts with Thomas ideals of leaving. Seeing Thomas and Gally conflict enriches the story and when it's time to choose sides of who to follow is when the story really hits it's strive.

While I did enjoy the story a lot, it does suffer from some plotholes and deaths towards the end that took me out of it. For the sake of spoilers I won't get into detail of deaths and one plothole that bothered me. However I will say how did Gally get there when he said he will stay? It's never explained in the film and that made his character arc seem expendable. There were certain deaths at the end that I felt was unnecessary and it felt like the film was going for a tear jerker moment. Other than that the film is pretty good. It has some good acting, great music, the visuals aren't the best but the design of the maze is pretty good. It's not perfect but it keeps you entertained.