An adaption of the James Dashner novel, Wes Ball directs The Maze Runner, a film about a boy suffering from amnesia, who wakes up in a maze with a group of teenage boys.
Set in the ‘The Glade’, is the story of Thomas. Awaking with memory loss, he finds himself abandoned to a community of boys, who are overlooked by an oppressive maze. From arriving at the dystopian community, becoming a ‘runner’, to the boys’ world being turned upside down with the arrival of a mysterious girl, this sci-fi action film sets off at a storming pace and never runs out of steam.
Dylan O’Brien heads an impressively strong young cast as Thomas. Where most films aimed at the teenage market tends to have protagonists who are arrogant and annoying O’Brien steers clear of those pitfalls and delivers a believable performance of a newcomer, who may or may not be the saviour of this group of lost boys. The supporting cast of Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter and Kaya Scodelario are equally impressive as community leaders struggling to decide as to whether Thomas is a threat or a life line.
It would be easy to compare this film to works such as Lord of the Flies, thankfully its core premise is more sci-fi than piercing childhood metaphor. With clunky talk of ‘runners’ and ‘grievers’ at the beginning initial fears are soon eased as the plot unfolds. Thankfully the film takes the time to develop the characters and relationships properly, as the cast is talented enough to make the most of this time the film is made all the more enjoyable. That the boys are shown to be co-operative, intelligent and thoughtful is also refreshing, especially considering Hollywood’s tendency to portray teenagers in less than a positive light.
Cleverly paced, once the film has laid the ground work for the characters and plot it then moves swiftly onto the action. The CGI is acceptable with the maze and ‘grievers’ looking believable enough not to take the viewer out of the moment, more importantly the action actually helps move the story along and develop the characters as the story progresses. This leads to some very strong scenes as to the nature of Thomas’s character, the dynamic of the community and fundamentally the kind of people they are, all done without the syrupy clichés these kind of movies can fall foul of. Thankfully the arrival of Scodelario’s Teresa only adds to the intrigue and the film doesn’t fall into the trap of the boys getting distracted by the new arrivals’ obvious female charms.
The only minor criticism is that ending doesn’t quite live up to mystery and intrigue built up throughout the film, but these kind of stories rarely do, and the ending certainly doesn’t undermine the film in anyway.
Brimming with ideas and bursting with thrills, this film never loses its way and finds itself racing towards the sequel.
‘The Maze Runner’ opens in cinemas around the UK from October 10th.
Enjoy this article? Then why not sign up to Fortitude Magazine’s Weekly Round Up! Our pick of the week’s best news, reviews, videos and music straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up today!