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The Maze Runner (2014)

thereviewers
Feb 13, 2015
2 min read

The Maze Runner sees Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wake up trapped in an ever-changing maze with a group of boys who have no memory of the outside world. Faced with dangers at every turn Thomas and the others must piece together clues to discover a way out before its too late.

Overall Review Score

2 out of 10

Review

The Maze Runner is a sci-fi action thriller film based on James Dashner's novel of the same name. While the film has, an intriguing premise and attempts to convert a young adult book into a film, its refreshingly dark tone and surprising 'ever-changing maze' backdrop quickly causes the film to become confusing in parts. This inevitably leads the audience down a rocky path whereby, like the maze itself, causes them to forget the majority of the supporting cast and be unimpressed with the special effects. While Dyan O'Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster deliver reasonable performances, they are easily overshadowed by the semi-formed storyline and confusing concept. Overall, The Maze Runner had the potential to be a good film but its slow start and failure to build excitement consumes its dark undertones and leaves the audience begging for some explanation and clarification.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 1 out of 10

Comments:

Having never read The Maze Runner by James Dashner I hoped that this film would be both entertaining and suspenseful. However, the film delivered a familiar blend of survival related story, heavy-handed fractured exposition, bland acting and easily forgettable characters, which made me considered whether or not some characters could have been replaced with plants and added more to the story. All in all a rather predictable, stale and un-enjoyable film.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 3 out of 10

Comments:

While The Maze Runner features a slightly confusing and unexplained storyline, a poor support cast and clearly evident unformed characters it does bring something new to the survival-action genre as it moves towards its explosive, expository conclusion. Overall, it is a basic film that clearly was developed with the intention of creating a sequel. It will barely entertain the audience and ultimately leave them confused.