If you were to compare this film to “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent”, then we’d suggest you to stop. Sure, the basic concept of “teenagers struggling for survival in dystopian future” may have become a little too generic but isn’t it the reason why they are classified as the young-adult post-apocalyptic science fiction novels?
Although this film is Wes Ball’s full-length directorial debut, we must say that “The Maze Runner” has potential to become one of the most successful novel-turned-movies in film history. In fact, moviegoers will soon realise that this film is far better than they’d expect it to be.
Set in the dystopian future, the main protagonist, Thomas (played by Dylan O’Brien) wakes up to a community of young men, who call him “Greenie” (slang for newbie). Unable to understand the whole situation, Thomas attempts to run away from them until he realises they are all trapped in a confined space, “The Glade”.
The leader Alby (played by Aml Ameen) then introduces Thomas to their community, who call themselves the Gladers. Within The Glade, the Gladers are assigned to perform different tasks under the leadership of the veteran Gladers: Newt (played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Gally (played by Will Poulter), and Minho (played by Ki Hong Lee). All of them are required to adhere the rules to protect themselves from the horrid spider-like creatures outside the Glade, whom they call the Grievers.
For the past 3 years, the Gladers have been living peacefully in the confined environment while the Runners are assigned to find a way out from The Glade. However, everything changes ever since Thomas’ arrival at The Glade.
First, one of the Runners, Ben (played by Chris Sheffield) attempts to kill Thomas after being stung by the Griever in the middle of the day. Then, a girl named Teresa (played by Kaya Scodelario) is sent to the Glade and appears to know Thomas’ identity as she called out his name before she went into coma. To make things worse, Alby is stung by a griever the day after Ben’s banishment.
From that moment onwards, the unexpected death scenes will elevate the film to the next level and audience will finally witness Thomas’ first encounter with the Griever. The intense parts of the film literally had us sitting on the edge of our seats!
With all the strange things going on, the growing chaos in the community causes Gally to suspect Thomas’ intention and further single him out from the community. This leads Thomas to believing that he must make a choice before the Grievers come and attack them again. After studying the Maze structure with Minho, Thomas realises that they have found the key to escape the maze and tries to convince the other runners to escape with him.
The question is, can they escape the maze? Why were they thrown into The Glade in the first place? We must say, the twist at the end of the film definitely got us hooked!
Despite slight changes to the character’s ability and storyline, the director was able to bring out all the best moments from the book and into the world that is beyond our imaginations. The Glade in the film looks much bigger and more complicated than we had expected it to be. In fact, the Grievers are just as terrifying as described in the book! It’s always comforting to watch a film with successful casting choices and the cast definitely surpassed our expectations.
Don’t forget to check out what goes on behind-the-scenes of “The Maze Runner” here:
“The Maze Runner” will be released in a cinema you on September 11th.
For more information, visit the movie’s official website.
