by Lorie Lewis Ham
Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.
The Maze Runner is the latest in the onslaught of Young Adult dystopian Sci-Fi being turned into movies, and I’d have to say that so far it has been my favorite.
The main character, Thomas, played by Dylan O’ Brien of Teen Wolf fame, suddenly finds himself dumped in a glade with a bunch of other boys. He doesn’t remember anything but his name and it’s the same with all the other boys. One of the older boys, Alby (Aml Ameen-The Butler & Harry’s Law), is their leader and has worked hard to create order and discipline in this society. They all work hard to create a community and do their part. There are those that are chosen as runners who go out into this maze whose doors open up every day and then close at night. They are attempting to map the maze in hopes of finding a way out (the maze is part of a big structure that surrounds them). There are scary creatures within the maze called Grievers and those who don’t make it back into the glade before dark are never seen again. Thomas ends up becoming one of the runners and stirs up a lot of controversy because he dares to challenge the rules in hopes of getting them all out of there. One of the things he discovers is that nothing is really what it seems.
To tell much more than that would give away the plot. Except of course if you have read the book you would already know. Since I haven’t read the book, I can’t state how well the movie compares to it, so I have to judge it on its own merits. I found the complexity of the plot very interesting–which is why I like it better than Hunger Games or Divergent–though I did enjoy those as well. Instead of going into this with a basic idea of what is going on in their world, we discover things as the boys do and I like that. I like the mystery of the Maze Runner, the fact that even by the end of the story you don’t really know what’s actually happened to this world–you simply get a glimpse of why they are doing this to these boys. The movie is filled with edge of your seat action, good special effects, and I liked the relationship that develops between most of the boys. Thomas comes in and totally disrupts their world by having the courage to face whatever is necessary to get them out of there.
Dylan is one of my favorite young actors and this was a great role for him. Other standouts included Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones and Phineas & Ferb) who played Newt, the second in command of the boys, Alby, and one of the other runners Minho (Ki Hong Lee). The youngest boy Chuck (Blake Cooper), became like a little brother to Thomas and their relationship has some really sweet moments. Kaya Scodelario plays Teresa, the only girl in the glade–she comes in later on in the movie and has some sort of connection to Thomas.
There are a lot of lesser known young actors in this movie with a lot of talent and I really look forward to seeing where their careers lead them, and to part two in this story-The Scorch Trials-coming out in 2015.
So if you are looking for some interesting Sci-Fi action at the movies, and especially if you like this genre, don’t miss The Maze Runner--it is well worth it.
The Maze Runner is currently playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6, also in 3D. Showtimes can be found on their website. Platinum Theaters Dinuba 6 now proudly presents digital quality films in 2-D and 3-D with 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound to maximize your movie experience.
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