Review: The Maze Runner

I saw 'The Maze Runner' last year in the cinemas but didn't think to review it at the time. So last night I watched it again, just to see what I thought of it now. I really liked it at the time, but it's one of this movies where so much is happening that doesn't make sense, you have to watch it at least twice to really make your mind up about it.

It's another dystopian future themed movie based on a series of books. This is the first in the series, with the second movie due for release sometime this year. I actually quite enjoy this genre. I like delving into post-disaster worlds that people create because even the ones that appear similar on the surface usually turn out to be completely different (I'm saying this with everyone who called 'Divergent' a 'Hunger Games' rip off in mind, because I personally couldn't find a ton of similarities to those series). 

'The Maze Runner' revolves around a young dude name Thomas, who wakes up in a metal box that is being elevated upwards. When he reaches the top he is found by a group of other young dudes. He can't remember anything but his name and has no idea where he is, just like the other guys. It turns out that every month for the past couple of years a new guy arrives memoryless in the box with supplies. They are in the middle of an enormous maze that is patrolled by 'grievers', which are basically massive ugly, spidery killing machines. Each day 'runners' go out into the maze to try and find a way out. Thomas becomes a runner (duh) and become determined to get himself and his new friends out. Not long after his arrival another box is delivered. This time the only thing in it is a girl with a note saying 'She's the last one ever'. It then becomes imperative that Thomas, the girl and the other guys find a way to beat the grievers and find a way out of the maze in order to survive. 

THE GOOD:

The idea behind this story is a great one. I've read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies in this genre and I haven't really seen one like this. I like that the author of the books was clearly unafraid of coming across as sexist. Don't get me wrong, as a woman I love a good story with a kick arse heroine, but I think sometimes authors and screenplay writers get a little too concerned with coming across sexist and end up missing the mark. I have no problem whatsoever with a story mostly comprised of male characters. What I look for in stories is a group of characters that are distinct and original. 

The group of actors chosen for this movie works really well. They provide the right amount of suspense and drama without overacting. I haven't read the books, so I went into this (the first time) not having the foggiest idea what it was about. All I could figure was that there would be a big maze at some point. With that in mind, I love the storyline of the movie. It really keeps you guessing. Just when you think you kind of know what's happening it changes gear and throws you in another direction. 

THE BAD:

The character Gally absolutely shit me to tears. I'm guessing he was supposed to, but for most of the movie I just wanted to slap him and tell him to stop being such a massive baby. Also, right at the end, after they've clearly left him behind in the 'Glade', which is the place they live in the middle of the maze, he shows up out of the blue and there's no explanation as to how that was even possible. I watch CinemaSins on YT all the time and all I could think was that they would totally sin the crap out of that.  

Some of filming choices were a little disorienting at times. For example, in the scene when the grievers attack them in the Glade, it's so dark you can barely see it properly and they have a lot of running shots, which are really bumpy. I get where they were coming from by having those, but I think the technique might have been a little overused.

THE OVERALL:

I really enjoyed this movie. It was different from other in its genre, though my personal favourite is still Divergent. I think the casting was great and the story itself was nice and suspenseful. Apart from the possible overuse of a filming technique, nothing else felt over done in the movie (except for the screen time Gally had, but hey, I just didn't like the dude). I give kudos to the actor who played Gally, because it's very rare that I seriously hate a character. I think when you hate a character to an irrational degree you can thank the actor for doing his job so wonderfully. It's easy to like characters, but I think it must take so much extra effort to make a character really hate-able. The last character I hated to such a degree was the Governor on 'The Walking Dead'. Anyone who watches that show knows what I'm talking about. If you're in to all these dystopian-type movies (and books), I would definitely suggest giving this a go!