Movie Review

THE MAZE RUNNER: ANALYSIS

--Mary McGregor   

Moving walls, a maze to be conquered, and lost memories yet to be found are all aspects of the popular movie The Maze Runner. As of its release on September 19, The Maze Runner has received a total of $87.6 million in North America alone, becoming as quick of a success as predicted by marketing analysts.

    The Maze Runner is based off of James Dashner’s 2009 young adult novel of the same name. It tells the story of Thomas, played by actor Dylan O’Brien, who finds himself in an elevator rushing upward to an unknown destination, which is not the only thing that Thomas has forgotten; he has lost everything, including his name. When Thomas reaches the top of the elevator he finds himself in a civilization, known as the Glade, made by teens who have lived in the middle of a maze for three years; this maze keeps them from escaping back to the lives they led before their memories were taken from them and they were placed in the Glade. You may think that after three years someone would have found a way out, but you soon find out that mechanic, spider-like machines come out and roam the maze at night, sensing and injecting whoever they find with a serum that causes the death of many Gladers. When Thomas arrives his curiosity could either make or break the small civilization of teens in the maze.

    Before I saw The Maze Runner I knew about its production of because I watch the television series Teen Wolf, where Dylan O’Brien co-stars. He had begun to announce the making of the movie on the social media site Twitter about a year before its release; because of this I had an interest in seeing the movie, mostly due to O’Brien being the star, as he is one of my favorite actors. However, when I saw the movie on opening night I was very disappointed, more due to the plot line rather than the actors. I find that when you say you dislike a movie or television series most assume that it is because of the cast, which in most cases it is, but for me it was the plot in The Maze Runner. As the movie progressed I found myself confused at where it would lead and how everything would add up. Some who are rabid Maze Runner fans might make a rebuttal that not everything had added up because I have not read the book, but the movie was indeed a rendition of the book; I do not see how reading the book can somehow put the pieces of the plot back together. Overall, I would not recommend The Maze Runner to anyone wanting a new movie to see in theaters; maybe the next movie in the series, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, will clear up some of the details that are missing.