For those of you who have never heard of the best-selling novel the Maze Runner, you should read it now. Based in a post-apocalyptic world, the Maze Runner is an almost-better version of The Hunger Games. The movie was released in U.S. and Canadian theaters on September 19. It follows the story of a boy named Thomas, who wakes up in a maze and has no absolutely no recollection of his life until that moment. The movie follows Thomas’ journey as he enters the community of boys, and attempts to find a way to escape through the changing maze.
Having read the book, I was honestly so excited to watch this movie. The Maze Runner was one of my favorite trilogies of all time. After watching the movie, I can say that this was a fair book-to-movie adaptation; it definitely surpassed my expectations (especially after Divergent.) Plus, watching Dylan O’Brien (Stiles Stilikski) on camera definitely peaked my interest.
For the most part, the movie stays true to the novel. But for those of you who haven’t read the book, the movie may not be as interesting as it first seems. Unlike the more popular post-apocolyptic movies and franchises out there, the Maze Runner doesn’t explain everything upfront. As you watch the movie, you begin to understand how and why the characters live the way they do but even then, the entire movie is simply an introduction to the main story line.
After some buzz about the director and production of the film, I decided to research and dig up some information about their style. It turns out that the director, Wes Ball, is actually a brand new director to Hollywood. He has previously directed short films, but this is his first major blockbuster.
Though I don’t want to spoil everything or anything from the movie, I will say that the dramatic reveal of why the boys are running in the maze made the movie, surprisingly, less interesting. Overall, I was more intrigued with the entire movie, and watching the last scenes, made me not enjoy the movie as much. I definitely think the first half of the movie made me give the movie a higher rating. In some ways, I wish they had left out the ending scenes and instead made the audience wonder the whole point of the maze. It made the movie seem as if it was just a simple solution, and not as grandiose as it should have been. Maybe they would have been better off leaving the end scene out and leaving their audience with an epic cliffhanger.
But, having read the book, I understood that the politics of the entire community was far more fascinating than the surface value. The movie was an impressive feat for Wes and I think he did a great job combining the dark and intense scenes of the Maze, as well as leaving the audience excited for the upcoming sequel.
Overall, I would definitely recommend you check out this movie!