'The Maze Runner' Review

Think 'Hunger Games' meets...um...actually no....just think 'Hunger Games'.

The YA renaissance is in full effect, and now we come to Fox's adaption of the James Dashner novel: 'The Maze Runner'.

Now, I continue my illustrious tradition of not reading the book with this film, so I feel that I am the perfect candidate to tell you about the plot. It centers around a young man named Thomas ('Teen Wolf's Dylan O' Brien) who is sent up in a cage to a small group of kids who are trapped on all sides by a massive maze. Thomas has no recollection of who he was before this. In fact, it takes a while for his name to even reoccur in his memory. Within the society there are 'Runners'. Athletically and mentally gifted boys who run  across the maze every day before dusk, hoping to find something that can benefit them in escaping. But the maze isn't the same each day. Every night the walls of the maze change making it impossible for the runners to know exactly where they're going each day. Also, the maze is full of these creepy spider mech things called Grievers, and they're bad news.

But then the movie takes a 180 when a girl is sent up to the maze and seems to have a connection to our protagonist. Secrets are unraveled, alliances are formed, battles ensue, yada yada yada...ALL that good stuff.

'The Maze Runner's first forty five minutes were intriguing. The longer the director keeps the audience in the dark, the more exciting it is. The way this dystopian society works is kind of enjoyable to watch in all of its 'Lord of the Flies' fashion. Also, the performances are all very solid. These aren't just kids they pulled straight out of a tween magazine, these are fine actors who really know their craft. 

Sadly, the movie really loses traction in its second half. Once the sci-fi element begins to show its true colors, the more yawn worthy it gets. But if the finale's twist was decent, that could be forgivable. But sadly, it isn't. In fact, it maybe one of the most unsatisfying conclusions I've seen from a film in a long time. Now, I haven't read the book, so maybe it's handled a lot better there. But I was really disappointed.

Also, as good as the actors are, their characters can't seem to escape the stereotypes that these young adult movies are burdened with. In one review I read before seeing the movie, they put this film under the "Special Snowflake" category of action films. And what that basically means is that it's about a protagonist (male or female) who is new to a group that has lived by a set of rules for a long amount of time. But then this "Chosen one" will upset the established order and cause a conflict that soon goes into a large final battle. And this film is already planting the seeds for those events to follow. Now if these cliches are used in a clever, different way (i.e. 'Harry Potter', 'Hunger Games') I could enjoy it, but sadly this movie's characters are so generic and expendable. In fact, with the exception of our main guy and our main girl, there's only one other character who gets any amount of backstory and exposition, and it's SO OBVIOUS that he's not going to make it to the end. 

Overall, 'The Maze Runner' is just an okay time killer. It has a pretty investing first half, followed by a pretty lame second half. Nothing about it is terrible, but there's nothing great about it either. It's just kind of there. But hey, if you love it, they set up a sequel in one of the most painfully obvious ways I've seen in a while. How do I feel about that? Within the next couple years, there's gonna be a new 'Star Wars'. Batman is going to fight Superman. Godzilla and King Kong are roaring back on the big screen. 'Mad Max' is getting a reboot. 'The Avengers' are just about to reassemble. We're all gonna take another journey to 'Jurassic Park'. And for you YA book readers, more 'Hunger Games' and Hogwarts are on their way. So who cares?

Grade:C

Review by: Josh McCormack