Movie Review
Brittany Reynolds, Staff Writer
“The Maze Runner,” released nationwide Sept. 19, swept me in almost instantaneously. “The Maze Runner” came out just in time to jump in with the current young adult novels and the corrupt society fad. Lately, movies like “Divergent,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Giver” and now “The Maze Runner” have entranced our society and even brought reading back to our technologically advanced world. “The Maze Runner” director Wes Ball did a phenomenal job directing his first full-length movie, honing in his visual effects background and creating a setting that is believable and exiting at the same time. This movie is properly rated PG-13 for the Sci-Fi related violence.
The film begins with Thomas, played by “Teen Wolf’s” Dylan O’Brien, who is brought up in an elevator into a lush green glade. The area is green, contains a forest and is surrounded by four large walls, enclosing them in what seems to be their prison. Thomas is greeted by a herd of boys who jest towards him, creating a heightened sense of fear. As Thomas begins to discover more about this group and his surroundings, he finds out that the surrounding walls house a massive maze that only remains open during daylight.
As one will see later in the movie, Thomas acts on his fear, which in turn makes him stronger. Within in a handful of days, the facade these boys have come to terms with has been shattered before their eyes, thanks to Thomas. His arrival warrants change and while many are anxious for freedom, some think otherwise. Thomas will soon destroy their hierarchy by changing his status and becoming a runner, that is, one who runs through the surrounding treacherous maze in an attempt to map it out. His bravery gave those who lost hope something to fight for in a “Lord of the Flies” kind of way. Towards the end of the movie a female character arrives in the form of Kaya Scodelario’s Teresa and though I can sense a sequel approaching, her arrival in this movie felt a bit unnecessary. I personally feel she could have been used more or removed entirely from the movie. Otherwise I felt like the actions were essential to move the plot along.
The movie constantly left me with unanswered questions. Once it did answer some of my wandering thoughts, it left me with new ones. Typically this could be frustrating, but in reality it just left me more eager to find answers and caused me to grip the edge of my seat until I got them.
The movie was captivating and moved fluidly at a pace that kept everything interesting. Aml Ameen, who played Alby, proved to make a great leader. His presence was warm and trusting. Thomas Broadie-Sangster played Newt, Alby’s right hand man and I saw that his character really did look up to Alby. He did a wonderful job of taking Alby’s belief and standing by them, being just as trustworthy as Alby had been. On the other hand, Gally, played by Will Poulter, seemed domineering and hot-headed. He appeared to be the antagonist of the movie, being very cold and unforgiving. It was refreshing, however, to see an antagonist who fought for the same thing that the protagonist sought after, which was freedom. With the intensity brought to the screen by Poulter it was nice to have some sort of comic relief from a young boy named Chuck. Even his name is as light and flippant as his character. I was fascinated by Blake Cooper’s performance in the role of Chuck. Minho, played by Ki Hong Lee, was the leader of the runners. He, like others did not understand the madness to Thomas’ methods, but he was quickly on board. Ki Hong Lee gave off a brotherly vibe and seemed to be there for Thomas. Dylan O’Brien portrayed Thomas better than anticipated. I was enthralled with the way he showed an accurate view of a never-ending curiosity. His character held so much emotion and confusion which I could feel emanating from the screen.
One thing that really did keep the movie flowing was the remarkable and captivating score written by John Paesano. I was emotionally invested in the movie, partially because the music moved me. The characters were on point, the mood was set, the visual effects were not overbearing and the story left me wanting more. If I were in line to purchase my next movie tickets, I would definitely put this one in my top three, especially if you have seen “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent,” it’s about time to watch an attractive male take the world by storm and rewrite the rules.
