Movie Review: The Maze Runner

I’ve been lulled into another YA inspired movie, and I was almost sold, almost all the way convinced that this was better than Hunger Games, the first one that had any staying power since Potter, and then the ending came.  But let us backtrack.  The Maze Runner starts off with a bang, our hero, Thomas, wakes up in a cage which is actually an elevator going up.  He has no idea where he is going or how he got there and the plot stays shrouded in mystery as Thomas tries to figure out how he came to be in a forest with other boys, none of whom know how they got there or why they can’t find a way out.

The story unfolds with Thomas pushing the boundaries, running into the maze that surrounds the forest, trying to help and comes face-to-face with the thing that chases the boys if they remain in the maze for too long.  Somehow Thomas has more courage than the others and manages to discover something that none knew before and he leads a small group to freedom, or so they think.

The story is cramped, a lot going on in a short period of time and less and less of it makes sense, feeling more and more contrived as the hours went on.  Somewhere towards the end, I started wishing it was over, and that is usually a clear sign that I’ve lost interest in the story and no longer believe it has anything of value, which is unfortunate, as the story is actually quite interesting, though unsatisfying with the clear sequel setup at the end.  The cast was quite good, minus a few weak dialogue points, it holds its own and could give Katniss a run for her money, should the two movies ever coexist.  By itself, I still don’t count it highly, but when you step back, for $7, it was worth seeing.