The movie starts with a boy named Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) waking up in a metal cage. The cage lifts him into a grassy area, called the Glade, where he is greeted by a large group of boys who live there because they are trapped. Surrounding them is a deadly maze, filled with monsters called Grievers. Nobody except a select few called runners are allowed into the Maze for any reason. Life goes on in the Glade just fine until one of the boys tragically dies in the Maze. Alby (Aml Ameen), the group’s leader, goes into the Maze to find any sign of him, and he and Minho (Ki Hong Lee), the head runner, don’t make it back before nightfall. Just as the gate is about to close, Thomas runs in, and soon discovers the horrors of the Maze firsthand.
The Grievers are a horrifying combination of flesh and machine, and they attempt to kill Thomas throughout the night. He miraculously survives and kills one of the Grievers. Inside of it, they find a sort of mechanical key, and with that, they begin to learn the truth about the Maze, and the truth about themselves.
The movie’s story is very strong for almost the entirety of the film. It keeps the audience on their seats and leaves them asking questions, which is exactly what a movie like this should do, because “Maze Runner” is almost as much a mystery or a thriller as it is an action film. The faults in the plot are mostly due to numerous holes and unexplained areas near the end of the film, such as the origin of the Grievers or what the text the kids are being put through is meant to prove, but this is mostly due to the nature of the source material. Because the book that inspired the film is part of a series, not everything can be explained in one movie; therefore the film cannot be faulted too much for leaving many questions unanswered.
The film’s special effects are solid, but not incredibly present for the majority of the film. The Grievers are terrifying and gruesome as they should be, and the movements of the maze are very believable, but that’s really all there is. The only scenes that are really reliant on special effects are the scenes in the Maze that involve the Grievers, otherwise there aren’t many effects used simply because they aren’t necessary.
The camera work is probably the film’s weakest point. During some of the action the camera feels unfocused and erratic, not really allowing the audience to see everything that is happening. In contrast to the filming quality, the lighting in the film is fantastic. The Maze feels perfectly dank and gloomy, while the Glade has an almost unnaturally vibrant gleam to it during the day. This contrast really drives home the peacefulness of the Glade in contrast to the deadly Maze.
The use of color in the film provides excellent contrast, just like the lighting. The lively green color of the entire Glade, illuminated by the sun, is gorgeous. The Maze, on the other hand, is grey and dull in the day and a pit of deadly blackness at night.
“The Maze Runner” is a very good film, with some plot holes and poor camera angles, but is still incredibly entertaining and is well worth watching. I would give the film a rating for 4 out of 5.
