In a harshly structured dystopian future, a gutsy teenager dares to think for himself, rejig the status quo and begin the start of a series.
That exactly is what The Maze Runner is about.
It conforms rather closely to the YA-novel method that has consistently produced so many enormously successful movie adaptations in recent times.
Director Wes Ball’s film is based on the best seller authored by James Dashner. It features a parallel structure; it hits some identifiable beats and contains some character types that will seem quite conversant with any person who has seen the ‘The Giver,’ ‘Hunger Games,’ or ‘Divergent.’
But its origins stretch back further to classic, metaphorical literature about terrifying utopias, particularly ‘Lord of the Flies.’ Though there’s no Piggy and Conch, the teenage boys who inhabit this creepily serene society have moulded their own leadership and rules, and they assume they have gotten a peaceful sense of order, until Thomas appears.
In point of fact, Thomas, who is played by Dylan O’Brien – MTV’s “Teen Wolf” – isn’t even aware of his name at first. At the start of the movie, the confused young man – Thomas – finds himself rising speedily in a big, wobbly freight elevator that is also filled with supplies.
When he reaches the top, he steps out into a rambling, lush square called the Glade, which is fenced on every side by striking and unbelievably high concrete walls. It has lots of good-looking, young men of different cultures wearing different shades of indistinguishable long-sleeved shirt working together compliantly in the sun – building huts, gardening, cooking, and so on.
Thomas, like others before him, has no memory of who he is or how he got there. But as the most recent arrival to the Glade, he is called a ‘greenie’ and properly hazed pending when he can demonstrate his worth to the main figures he encounters. Alby (Aml Ameen), who was the first to arrive, is the actual leader, Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is his mischievous right-hand man, while Gally (Will Poulter) is the well-built bully, and Chuck (Blake Cooper) is the gagging plump kid.
Minho (Ki Hong Lee) heads the runners; the fleet-footed boys who dare to go into an opening in the gigantic walls and explore the maze that lies behind them. It is huge and treacherous but at least manoeuvrable in daylight. It closes up at nightfall; changes paths and consumes anybody who is so silly to remain stuck. No one has survived it nor escaped the other side overnight.
What is fascinating about ‘The Maze Runner’ is the way it tells us a story we think we have heard numerous times before but with a pleasingly different tone and extent of detail. Ball, who has a visual effects background, doesn’t overkill his feature debut with too many glossy, high-tech imagery atleast not yet, anyway. Much of the movie’s appeal comes from its rough- hewn visual, and the way it takes its time clearly establishing a setting.
And when Thomas finally does enter the maze, it creates some moments that are really worrying and packed with unending, dire danger. The monsters that dwell there are ceaseless, voracious and very quick. They’re awfully cool looking and creepy as hell.
The movie is now gradually coming to its ending. What a slip that ending is! It’s so unbelievably provoking. Everything was going just fine until then. The third act provides some mystery with the appearance of the first girl ever sent up in the elevator. She’s a determined brunette called Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), who happens to recognize Thomas already.
But The Big Disclose of what happened to these teenagers, who ensnared them in this place, and what their goal is, turns out to be rather appalling even for sci-fi. Several stuffs happen in the movie’s last minutes to the extent that it makes ‘The Maze Runner’ seem as if it has several conclusions. Some feature a number of unplanned hilarity when shock and fright were perhaps in the ploy. And they squander the tough and resourceful Patricia Clarkson in just a few seconds as the frigid, evil instigator of the maze.
She will most likely feature more prominently in the sequel because, trust me, it is coming.
Moinsights 