The title says it all, folks and is also exactly why I don’t feel bad giving such a late review. I always prepare myself before going into a movie based off a young adult novel because I’m never sure what to expect. Some of the time it works really well (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games) and other times it fails (Eragon, City of Bones). This movie straddles the boarder between good and bad so, without further ado, here’s my Maze Runner review.
The problem with YA (young adult) stories is that the publishers believe that kids don’t read so the writers can get away with being lazy. Maze Runner was so full of tropes that it was one of the most predictable movies I’ve seen in a while. The movie felt like a dystopian Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games and staring pod people instead of real characters. The movie was wooden and formulaic and the characters were like a rose in the tundra in winter, no growth. Everyone was the same person they were in the end that they were when the movie began with the exception of those who died because, well, they’re dead. But maybe I’m old and bitter. Maybe, to a young adult, she/he would pick up the book and say “wow, this is original and not at all predictable and the the characters were perfect representations of my generation in a post apocalyptic setting!” But I’m not a kid and I’ve see way too many movies to be able to ignore the writer’s over use of cliches.
The acting in the movie was wooden, but I’m not blaming the actors for this one. Like I’ve said in other reviews, an actor has to go with what’s on the page and if the role is so bland that it inspires Kristen Stewart to reach new heights, then the actors didn’t have a chance. I’m not familiar with Dylan O’Brien because I’ve never seen an episode of Teen Wolf because, in my eyes, MTV died when they stopped being about music. That being said, it felt like O’Brien’s portrayal of Thomas was a clone of Logan Lerman’s Percy Jackson, but with fewer emotions. I know I’m picking on this movie a lot as far as that characters go, but that’s because that’s the heart of a story. Something happens to a character, the character learns something and grows, and in the end the character is different from when they started. Almost every character in Maze Runner was the same in the end as they were in the beginning. There was only one person who grew during the movie and I won’t say who it is in the interest of spoilers. The only good performance was delivered by Patricia Clarkson because she had more to work with than the others did. The character of Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) was completely useless. She could have been taken out entirely and the only thing the movie would have lost was one of the only two female characters.
The visual effects were the best thing Maze Runner had going for it. The maze looked derelict, imposing, and scary. The scenes that took place in the maze ranged from impressive to visually stunning a it added the feeling of claustrophobia and isolation. In fact, the look of the movie overall was done really well. The glade, where all the kids lived, was a lush green safe haven in the heart of a dead concrete jungle. It actually felt like the island from Lost but without polar bears and Dominic Monaghan.
Not to beat a dead horse but Maze Runner was as predictable as rewatching The Empire Strikes Back. Gee, I wonder who Luke Skywalker’s dad is? There nothing wrong with a writer using tropes or cliches as long as the writer adds their own unique spin to it. Maze Runner was so unoriginal that the writers of NCIS probably got hard on’s while watching it. The best thing I can say about this movie was that it wasn’t Twilight or Transformers. Maze Runner wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t any good. I didn’t hate it, which you may find hard to believe after I’ve spent the last few paragraphs taking a huge dump on it.
Don’t go see Maze Runner. Not in the theaters at least. If you’re set on watching it then wait for Netflix so you don’t have to spend any money. There are a bunch of movies out there that you could see instead. I’m sure Guardians of the Galaxy is still in some theater somewhere. Go find that. Halloween is coming up so ask Raz what to watch. He can list of a plethora of fantastic horror movies to watch. There are already plans for a Maze Runner 2 and hopefully it’ll get better, but I won’t hold my breath.
Maze Runner gets a 5 out of 11.