MOVIE MONDAYS: THE MAZE RUNNER
The film I finally chose to see this year for my birthday was The Maze Runner and I am glad I did so. Ever since I found out that this was going to be Dylan O'Brien's next project I knew it was a film that had to be seen. And what better day than the day I planned to celebrate turning 24. Sure I could have decided to see a more "grown up" film like Gone Girl but The Maze Runner is a young adult film which is exactly what I am so there!
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Source: 20th Century-FOX
Yeah, so I loved it. Having never read the books or watched the trailer in full I had no idea what this film was really about. From its title, poster and the few seconds I caught from the trailer I got this The Hunger Games -esque vibe which was totally cool with me. My brother and sister were equally eager to see the film as well which made the whole experience much more fun. We were slightly worried that we'd fall asleep in the cinema due to us OD-ing on the Chinese food we had for lunch (I doubt I will ever master the art of eating at a buffet) but the tempo of The Maze Runner did not give us that opportunity. The opening scene is one of the most intense, suspenseful and captivating scenes I have seen in a long time. All signs of drowsiness were instantaneously wiped from our body as were quickly sucked into the maze.
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Without giving too much away, The Maze Runner is a fascinating action-packed story about how an inquisitive and empathetic young lad named Thomas finds himself trapped in a maze, along with a few others, and attempts to find the exit and answers to the questions related to what lies beyond the walls destined to confine them. Filled with gasp-releasing twists, characters that slip into your heart with ease and a bit of humour, this dystopian tale was based on the book of the same title written by James Dashner. I really want to get my hands on this series (I do love a good series) and devour them all but... I am not sure if I want to know the end yet. I reckon I'll at least read the first book and enjoy finding out more about this world via a different medium.
As far as first features go, Wes Ball (Ruin; A Work In Progress; Jacob: The Movie) did not do too badly me thinks. It was under his direction that The Maze Runner was brought to be big screens. And it seems as though its interesting screenplay was written by T. S. Nowlin, Noah Oppenheim and Grant Pierce Meyers. I said "it seems", because those are the three names that keep popping up when I search for this film's screenwriter but I've seen only one web page so far that lists all 3 as contributors...
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The performance of the cast was great to watch and definitely one of the highlights of this film. Dylan O'Brien (The Internship; The First Time; Teen Wolf), whose acting I can find no fault in, stars as curious, driven and protective Thomas. Alby, the strong and affable leader of the small community of people that call The Glades (the centre if the maze) home was played remarkably well by Aml Ameen (Beyond the Lights; The Butler; The Bill). My siblings thought it fit to call me Alby after we saw the film when I decided to do my weekly shop 7 mins before our train was due to depart - click the link to see if I made it or not haha. Blake Cooper (Prosper) played the role of Chuck- a kind, loyal and brave soul who I would not mind being friends with at all. He is definitely in the running for being my favourite character in this film. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Phineas & Ferb; Game of Thrones; Love Actually) took on the role of the carefree, fair and hopeful Newt who helped Thomas find his bearings when he first stumbled upon The Glades. Minho, an agile, helpful and dependable member of The Glades was played by Ki Hong Lee (MotherLover; The Nine Lives of Chloe King). Will Poulter (Plastic; We're the Millers; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) did a great job portraying the polarising character, Gally, that is not so much in denial as he is in a position to protect those he cares about the best way he knows how. I was pleased to hear that Kaya Scodelario (Southcliffe; Skins; Wuthering Heights (2011)) would be in this film as the last thing I saw her in was Skins. She took on the role of Teresa, a direct, no-nonsense and caring girl whose presence not only brought along more questions but some answers too. All in all, there was a great mix of interesting characters whose back stories I am eager to know more about.
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In short, if you are in the mood for a film that catapults you into a dystopian universe with some great action sequences, an interesting storyline and great characters then you should give this a go. I really enjoyed it and I'm excited to see what The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials brings to the table. If you have seen this film, let me know what your thoughts are on it.
Mo x