THE MAZE RUNNER (PG-13)
Released by 20th Century Fox
Review by Adam Mast
With the success of TWILIGHT and THE HUNGER GAMES, studios have been hot to adapt every popular young adult novel they can get their hands on. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen DIVERGENT, ENDER’S GAME, and THE GIVER make their way to the big screen, and now, James Dashner’s THE MAZE RUNNER gets the cinematic treatment.
As THE MAZE RUNNER opens, 16-year-old Thomas (Dylan O’Brien from the TV series TEEN WOLF) awakens to find himself ascending in an elevator at rapid speed. Once the elevator stops and its doors open, Thomas is greeted by a community of teenagers. What do these boys have in common? Well, none of them seem to remember where they came from. Further still, the tiny forest area that they now call home is surrounded by the colossal concrete walls of an intricate, creature-filled maze, the end of which may or may not lead them to their place of origin.
I haven’t read the popular Dashner novel, but as a film, THE MAZE RUNNER took me by surprise. This is an exciting, scary, and intense thrill ride (probably too much for the preteen crowd) bursting at the seams with terrific set pieces and solid special effects. THE MAZE RUNNER also benefits from a terrific cast, led by a likable O’Brien as the confused but determined Thomas.
Director Wes Ball and screenwriters Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T.S. Nowlin jam-pack this adaptation with quite a bit of information, and while there are a few elements that feel underdeveloped, I greatly enjoyed the overall pace of the THE MAZE RUNNER. When the film does slow down for the necessary character beats, the cast is appealing enough to keep things interesting until the action kicks in again.
While LORD OF THE FLIES and THE HUNGER GAMES are clearly major influences here, there’s a little bit of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and LOST in there too. What I liked most about THE MAZE RUNNER is that it throws us right into the action without any backstory. From the get-go, we are as disoriented and confused as the characters on screen, and this gives the THE MAZE RUNNER an aura of genuine mystery. Will everything make sense to Thomas and his newfound brotherhood by the end of the movie? I won’t go into deep spoiler territory here, but I will say this: Dashner wrote more than one THE MAZE RUNNER book. Take that tidbit as you will.
Here’s hoping this film enjoys a healthy box-office run because, quite frankly, I want to see what the future holds for this franchise, particularly after THE MAZE RUNNER reveals its true identity in the final moments. The ending is a bit abrupt and even a little obvious, but as a whole, this is a worthy adventure and I’m not ashamed to admit that it made my palms sweat on more than one occasion.
(UPDATE)
This just in; 20th Century Fox is moving forward with THE MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS. It’s slated for September 2015! You read that correctly. A one year turnaround! While that isn’t a whole lot of time for a big studio production schedule, I’m hoping for another winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwwbhhjQ9Xk
