I know this review comes weeks after the initial preview, and that you may have already seen or at least read about the movie. However, let me remind you that you most certainly did not see it this past Saturday night like I did.
Anyway, The Maze Runner lives up to its expectations as one of the many young adult dystopian movies that manages to sprint ahead of the pack. When you get down to it, the entire setting of the dilapidated, mysterious future under investigation is so formulaic its laughable. No matter what happens, you know the protagonist will gradually unearth more clues until the final confrontation that reveals all.
Luckily for the human race, we are easily entertained. Even better, the Maze Runner’s twists and turns (literally) provide no shortage of excitement. Set in a futuristic world, a group of young boys make a living for themselves trapped in the middle of a monolithic stone maze. Each night the maze closes to keep out the deadly mechanical “grievers” that patrol the walls outside. One day, a boy named Thomas arrives via a elevator shaft, and his entrance changes everything.
While I never understand why the human test subjects/tributes/athletes in these movies have to be young people, they add a certain youth to the film that simply doesn’t exist in similar action films such as Guardians of the Galaxy or X-Men. Many of the stunts these actors pull off are actually believable because they are young and limber. And trust me, there is much jumping and ducking and rolling in the maze.
It felt as though the filmmakers tried to make up for the (almost) all-male cast by making it more diverse. Although the main character is still white, there is a delightful melting pot of races to be had. My only caveat was that I did not see any hispanics in the film. Come on Hollywood! I don’t mention this out of simply being progressive, but it is distracting to see so many dystopian movies containing swathes of white faces.
One of the best parts about the film is the set design. Since the entirety of the film occurs in the maze, you can tell that the filmmakers went to great lengths to give character to the environment. As the film progresses we come to know the inner sanctum as the young boys do; we call it a home and share their view of the maze as the hostile outside. The maze itself, changing each night with ponderous groans, was a character itself. It stood in for the mysterious group controlling it, and sent forth the frightening “Grievers” from within. This is not a horror movie, but I was startling at several points.
Overall, The Maze Runner, is not a shining example of a dystopian movie, nor a coming of age film, but it’s a worthy view all the same. At the very least, you’ll have to catch it if you want to see the sequels.
