The Maze Runner (2014)

The Maze Runner

IMDB rate: 7,4

Genre: Adventure, Post-Apocalyptic

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario

This time not a horror review, but a review about a movie I saw in the cinema recently, The Maze Runner. I actually had no idea what this movie was about, I took a quick glimpse at the IMDB page but decided not to watch the trailer since often the trailer spoils everything awesome. I actually haven't read the book yet, but I'm definitely planning to, this mainly because I hope it clears up some confusing parts of the movie. At the moment there are 5 books, so I'm expecting that there will be just as many movies. I'm pretty interested in reading those books actually, since the movie was pretty interesting as well.

Here's what it's about:

Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. A new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "The Glade" for two years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space. They have begun to give up hope. Then a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change. There are some great, fast-paced action scenes, particularly those involving the nightmarish Grievers who plague the boys.

I thought it was a nice movie, I really enjoyed watching it even though there are quite a few flaws. First of all, the boys say they've been there for 2-3 years, but if only one boy arrives at The Glade once every 30 days, it would mean there are 38 boys tops. Since a lot of them died according to them, it would mean there should be even less people. Also, when Thomas walked into the maze, why not just wait at the gate? Even when that part of the maze would change, they could run away to the end of the path I would think. Instead they just walked around the entire night with the possible danger of encountering a Griever. 

These things are pretty questionable but I was able to not look into it too much, simply because I quite enjoyed the movie itself. The Glade itself is a pretty impressive looking place with big gray walls surrounding a green field, the maze itself is even more amazing looking because you can almost feel the closeness of it. The effects are made incredibly well and the action is quite good. The Grievers look awesome as fuck, making those maze scenes even more amazing. 

The cast young but excellent. Dylan O'Brien plays Thomas, and I was quite impressed with his acting. I knew that Dylan O'Brien plays in that werewolf show Teen Wolf, but I always thought it would be a terrible show so I never payed any attention to it. Because of my assumption I figured he wouldn't be the greatest actor either, but he was quite good. Side note: pretty attractive as well :). Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays a smaller role, but nevertheless quite amazing. I have never seen Love Actually, but I have seen him in Game of Thrones where he's amazing as well. I can go on forever, but the cast is pretty solid. It's young and more impressive than I expected them to be.

The thing that bothered me most was the ending, it was confusing and just seemed choppy. It's like there's still a big part missing from the storyline to make it all seem logical. I suspect that most of it is being saved for the sequel though. By the way, when the girl came up in the elevator, was I the only one that thought she would be in a massive group rape? Since they're all young teenage boys, stuck there for quite some time already... 

Even though the movie had a few flaws, I really enjoyed watching it. It's slightly comparable with The Hunger Games, which I love by the way. The Maze Runner is entertaining and definitely worth a watch. 

My rate: 7/10