9/28/14: THE MAZE RUNNER REVIEW! (Spoiler Free)

I finally got to see The Maze Runner and, I have to say, it was much better than expected and different from other teen-orientated films (The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Giver, etc.) for the better.

Well, you know what it's time for. Here's my review:

The Maze Runner Fact Box:

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Action, Mystery

Running Time: 113 min (1 hr 53 min)
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Aml Ameen, and Will Poulter
Summary: Thomas wakes up trapped in a maze with several other boys, and they must chose to establish it as their home forever or risk everything to escape.
Rating: PG-13
Release Date(s): September 19, 2014
Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/

Director: Wes Ball
Writer(s): Noah Oppenheim (Allegiant: Part 1), Grant Pierce Myers, T,S, Nowlin

Brief Plot Overview: Based on James Dashner's best-selling book trilogy, The Maze Runner follows a teenage boy named Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) as he awakens to find himself in a community of boys trapped within a giant, mechanical maze, who live in the center, a large greenery area. He discovers from the community leader, Alby (Aml Ameen) that all their memories have been erased and the only thing they can remember our their names. Alby also explains they've been here for three years, and through ups and downs, they've established.
      There are some boys that are "runners," who run in the maze during the day, trying to find a way to escape, and return before nightfall when the Grievers come up, robotic/alien bug-spider thingys (I know, I know, very descriptive) that may actually hold the key of how they got here. The runners are led by Minho (Ki Hong Lee).
       In time, Thomas's curiosity, risk-taking, and determination to escape split the boys up, one side wanting to remain in the maze, for that's been their home for three years, led by Gally (Will Poulter) or go with Thomas and Minho to find a way out and find out the truth.

What I Liked About It: I liked how it just started with Thomas waking up in the community, and not playing a narrated montage of the Dystopian society (which I knew this was from brief background knowledge), and that led me to believe this wasn't going to be another teen movie like Divergent, The Giver, or even The Hunger Games. There was non-stop mystery, suspense, and action, which led you entertained throughout. In lots of reasons, the movie was
surprisingly dark, gritty, and hauntingly realistic, which also made it different from other teen movies. The character development was strong, as we follow Thomas from new kid to leader, and see how the maze has effected all the other boys, for the good and for the bad. I liked how you had to solve the truth of the Maze as clues are uncovered as the movie progresses, Acting was great (cast contained many first-timers too), special effects were really great, and the whole scale of things really made you feel terrible this is for them. Not much I disliked.

What I Disliked About It: There were a few things near the end that didn't make any sense, didn't feel fit in within the theme, and wasn't tied, but those will give away spoilers. That's really all that's wrong. I actually enjoyed it a lot, and now I may be interested in reading the books now.

Rating:

9.5 out of 10