Director: Wes Ball
Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Ki Hong Lee
Certificate: 12
Run Time: 113 minutes
The latest young adult novel to get the movie treatment, THE MAZE RUNNER sees teenage boy Thomas awaken in a strange place which is surrounded by a labyrinth-like prison. He soon comes to find that he isn’t alone as the maze is full with a slew of other boys who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth whilst establishing a functioning society. Can Thomas find a way out?
Upon his arrival the peaceful status quo is disrupted; Thomas is keen to find a way out whilst others are content to live as they are. What he doesn’t understand though is that keeping the boys out of the maze, and captive, are ‘grievers’, an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare. The residents find themselves torn between keeping things the same or taking the risk to escape.
Those wanting a leisurely relax should probably give THE MAZE RUNNER a miss as the action kicks off right from the films inception. This is not a film with a slow burn build, we enter the world of the ‘Gladers’ exactly when Thomas does and get taken on one hell of a ride. The pace is relentless, not giving the audience any chance to rest or catch their breath, making viewing feel as if we are taking part in the run ourselves.
For years now teenage girls have had Katniss Everdeen to look up to, and now in THE MAZE RUNNER teenage boys finally have a strong and smart role model of their very own. As with other recent smash hit young adult adaptations the tone of the film is decidedly dark. Themes in the plot are distinctly more adult than young in tone and nature, with elements of THE LORD OF THE FLIES, Lost and cult sci-fi film, CUBE, making this a truly twisted tale.
So consistently engaging is the film that the climax comes around way to soon and hammers a ridiculously strong emotional punch that will kick you in the gut before vanishing into credits. Thankfully a sequel based on the novel The Scorch Trials is on the way later this year, by the time THE MAZE RUNNER is over you’ll be chomping at the bit for the next part.
[usr=4] THE MAZE RUNNER is out to buy on Blu Ray and DVD from Monday 9th February.
