To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t much looking forward to my viewing of The Maze Runner. Not that I had anything against the source material (I’ve never read the books) or even the trailers for that matter; those had at least stirred my interest. I’m just not usually onboard with the whole Young Adult thang and the recent onslaught of Young Adult adaptations has resulted in a large number of underwhelming films. The Maze Runner seems to fit right in with the genre’s latest trends. Despite the fact that James Dashner’s novel was released a year before Suzanne Collins’ first Hunger Games book was published, the cinematic iteration of his novel can’t help but seem like a B-Side to The Hunger Games film franchise. I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Maze Runner is actually a solid adventure flick, which stands on its own feet moderately well. It was exciting enough to keep my interest through its near two-hour running length thanks to strong direction and solid performances from its young cast and manages to thrill despite the sneaking suspicion that we've already seen everything it has to offer.
The plot follows a boy named Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) who wakes up on an elevator with no memory of who he is. He’s deposited into a community of around 60 or so young men who have experienced the same memory lost. They've adapted and learned to live in their environment – a glade/forest surrounded by enormous concrete walls. Those walls house a sinister maze, which opens up to the boys early in the morning and closes its doors when the sun goes down. The boys believe the way out of their prison lies somewhere within the maze, but no one who has been trapped inside the maze overnight has lived to tell the tale. Plagued by strange dreams of his past, Thomas is determined to conquer the maze in order to free himself and his fellow captives and figure out just why the hell they were imprisoned there in the first place.
The Maze Runner’s story is kind of a hybrid of The Hunger Games and The Lord of the Flies, but without the compelling characters or social commentary of either of those novels. What it lacks in original ideas and characters, though, it certainly makes up for with thrilling, expertly crafted action sequences. Considering this is his first foray into big screen territory, I was very impressed with director Wes Ball’s ability to craft genuinely suspenseful sequences. The first two acts are the strongest. Ball does a great job building tension and the mystery of the maze and when we finally get to see it in all its glory, it doesn't disappoint. There are some really cool set pieces here. Things fall apart in a weaker third act where certain characters unceremoniously bite the dust and certain secrets are revealed in underwhelming fashion in order to prepare for the inevitable sequel.
The performances are strong throughout. Dylan O’Brien makes for a likeable protagonist. He isn’t given much to do in the beginning besides asking your standard audience surrogate questions, but he makes it work and really comes into his own as Thomas’s character grows from being a confused bystander to a courageous leader. The supporting cast is strong too. The only casualty here is Will Poulter and his portrayal of the ‘antagonist’ Gally. Poulter isn't given much to work with, as Gally doesn't get much to do except complain about how Thomas is ruining everything the group has established in the years they've been trapped there. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but the guy has, like, 50 speeches that are practically identical. “Thomas needs to be punished! He broke the rules! He’s ruining everything! We can’t trust him!” And so on and so forth. Poulter does what he can with the limited characterization, but is overwhelmed in the end by the shoddy writing.
I won’t tell you to rush out and see The Maze Runner if you don’t already have some form of interest in the material. Really though, you could do much worse, considering how little there is to see in theaters at the moment – at least until Gone Girl is released on Friday. The Maze Runner is serviceable entertainment that doesn’t quite transcend its lack of originality or its absence of compelling characters, but it manages to get by despite these faults, delivering an exciting, albeit somewhat throwaway piece of entertainment.
FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
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