The Maze Runner (2014)

(There might be unintentional spoilers.)

Surprise, surprise, I am writing a review about a movie that is still in theatres. Before I get too much farther I would like to point out that I have not read the book, so this review will be entirely based off the movie. Although, I have heard tell of an uproar amongst fans of the book. Not a happy uproar either.

I felt like I was left with a lot of questions that might have been answered in the book, that I wish were answered in the movie. Some of them, like 'why only boys and why this age group' might just be decisions by the writer.

Anyway, I thought the movie, over all, was entertaining.

If I had to compare it to something else I would say it has a Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies. It certainly has comparable points from both. Though, I feel like it could actually be called a modern Lord of the Flies.

Lord of the Flies Parallels:

Young boys all trapped in an unfamiliar, unfriendly environment that establish rules and a community to survive. However, as rules are broken the group begins to fall apart and everything falls into chaos. At the end, they run to the end of the island (or maze) and are rescued by adults.

And let's face it:

Chuck = Piggy - practical kid, heavier set, only close friend is the male lead, no happy ending for him (Thomas/Ralph).

Thomas = Ralph - curious leader who starts to doubt himself but is brought back and re-inspired by friends (Newt and Chuck & Simon and Piggy).

Newt = Simon - calm, peace-keeper type, physical disability that limits what he can do for the group (Newt's limp & Simon's epilepsy).

Gally = Jack - arrogant kid who likes things the way they are and doesn't want to leave, sets himself up as antagonist to main character.

Gally even has a sort of small group of followers (the Builders), just like Jack had the Hunters.

It even followed that when Gally rebelled against Thomas, most of the boys sided with Gally and ostracized Thomas.

The Hunger Games element is more about the location they are in. Lord of the Flies had them wash up on some shore. Hunger Games put a specific number and group of people into a specific location designed for specific reasons and then monitored them.

Which is what happens here.

The maze itself was interesting. I am wondering what the people who set this up (WICKED) were actually trying to prove. Since, it seems to suggest that it was a disease/cure thing. But that makes really no sense as to why there was a maze. The maze makes me think of mice and cheese not a search for a cure. It briefly talked about this, but didn't really seem valid or helpful.

I liked the relationships that were established, but I did feel that Theresa was thrown in without any real purpose. As I said, I don't know if this is how the book had it, but in the movie she didn't seem to serve any real purpose.

I thought, maybe, she was Thomas's sister. But, that never came up. I thought, maybe, it was a way of introducing that there was either a second maze or second part of the maze with all girls, but that didn't come up either.

She shows up and hands Thomas the vials, then is just present for everything else. She doesn't really do anything that another character couldn't have easily done without effecting the plot. They could have put another boy up with the vials or they could have even just sent up the vials. We learn next to nothing about her that gives her any purpose in this movie.

If I didn't know that this was based on a book, I would say the only reason they added her at all is because they were worried the audience might object to only one female character with any lines. So, they figured they would just throw one in.

But, I do know it was based on a book, so maybe there was more to it.

Overall, the movie had action (though, it could have used more), suspense, horror (those bug things were creepy) and even a few moments of humor. Some of the characters could have been better developed, but overall I would recommend this movie.

Though, I could have waited to see it on DVD. The special effects on the big screen were good, but with TVs at home getting bigger and movie theatre prices going up, it didn't seem worth it.