The Maze Runner(2014)
Thankfully, the film is good at letting these mysteries play out slowly, letting you get used to one part of the world before introducing more intrigue, or providing answers, such as the slow introduction to the Grievers, the monsters living within the walls of the maze.
The Maze Runner(2014)
The first instalment of the 'Maze Runner' series stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter and Patricia Clarkson as a group of children find themselves imprisoned in a giant maze by the shadowy 'WCKD'.
This wonderful poster, showing Thomas in full maze-runner flight, has never been folded and (as our photos show) is in fantastic condition. It is double-sided and so is suitable for display in an Art of the Movies Light Box or traditional framing.
We learn that the community has Maze Runners who try to map the maze surrounding the community but the problem is that the maze changes every night, Newt continues the rest of the tour teaching Thomas about all the different groups before Thomas face Gally (Poulter) in a bonding battle. Thomas being curious tries to figure a way out but every idea he has the others have tried be it climbing over or going back down. Things start to get bad for Thomas when out of character runner Ben (Sheffield) attacks him blaming him for something. Ben had become infected by a sting, which cause the changing.
When the runners and the leader get caught up in the maze Thomas runs in to try and save the guys trying to get back. Stuck inside the maze Thomas must work with runner Minho (Hong Lee) to be the first to survive the night. During the night Thomas finds out about the creatures inside the maze Grievers killing one of them. When the box sends up Teresa (Scodelario) the first ever girl with the message this is the last one ever the community has to work out what to do next. Thomas arranges a team to go back into the maze try bring back the body of the griever to hopefully uncover answers about what they are up against. Thomas becomes a runner and along with Minho tries to find the answers the maze is hiding in a way to try and save the rest of the people.
Settings: The Maze Runner creates a good isolated setting for the characters to be in as the story unfolds, making them trapped surrounded by a maze waiting to kill them. (/10)Special Effects: The Maze Runner uses its special effects well to create the creatures that are after the teens. (8/10)
That changes things. Now, the boys have hope that there may be a chance of escape from the maze. But now, whoever controls the maze raises the stakes, allowing the Grievers to attack during the day and within the Glade.
Half the group leaves the glade and ends up escaping the maze, only to find out that the world outside the maze is all but destroyed due to something called the Flare and that they were subjects in some kind of experiment designed to help save the world from the Flare.
The Maze Runner is the 2014 feature film adaptation of the James Dashner novel. The feature film follows several young men who are mysteriously transported to a full size "maze" with no knowledge of where they came from. Together they must use what fragments they can remember to solve and survive the traps within the puzzle. The film is the first in a series of feature films based on the Dashner novels, which also includes the 2015 sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and 2018's Maze Runner: The Death Cure.
Unlike The Maze Runner (2014), there are no annoying teens in this movie, no dangling subplots, and there is no action. There is a maze, a rubber monster, and a bunch of character interaction, which is at least something. This is not even close to comparable to The Maze Runner, but it is based on a legend, so it does have a little in common with the teen drama. Sorta.
The previews for this movie interested me and after seeing that it was from another book series, I decided to read all of them, particularly the first one. It was gripping and kept me hooked. So, when the film finally came out last month, I was expecting this film to live up to my expectations and to my surprise, it turned out to be an intense and well-acted film. It isn't one of the best book-to-film adaptations like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Hunger Games, but considering that it avoided the tired trend of young-adult romance movies, this is one of the better films of the year.The story, for the most part, is interesting and kept the spirit and tone of the book intact while keeping some of the minimal changes which were acceptable. It also has some smart dialog and explains the details of how the people are trapped in a maze and their attempts to find a way out very well. The pacing is mostly decent and gives its time to develop not only the main protagonist, but the other characters as well. The music score is pretty good and it fitted the tone of the film perfectly; the direction from Wes Ball (who worked on a CGI animated short named Ruin that inspired the idea of the film) is nice. Also, the CGI visual effects on the Maze and the scenery are beyond fantastic it gives the film a big scale to it despite it's lower budget, but the best part would have to go to the acting. It had some very strong performances and portrayed the characters perfectly.Dylan O'Brien did a perfect job as Thomas, who develops from a confused teenager with no memory of who he is to a brave leader. The other characters are also good. Alby, the leader of the group of people called the Gladers in the Glade, Newt, the second in command and friend to Thomas, Gally, the arch-nemesis of Thomas, and Teresa all support the film with flawless effort. Mostly Teresa who doesn't come across as a love interest, but instead sharing a connection to Thomas. Then, there's Patricia Clarkson as a scientist who explains how the Gladers were brought to the Maze in the first place because of an experiment she and other scientists tested.Before I end this review, there are two problems that I do have with this film.Aside from the nice direction from Wes Ball, the camera angles on the action scenes felt kind of shaky much like the ones from The Hunger Games. Also, the flashbacks in Thomas's mind throughout the film felt poorly placed and could've been handled better. That's all I have to say.Overall, The Maze Runner isn't one of the best young-adult adaptations, but with an engaging story, intense action sequences, and a solid cast of actors, it succeeds as the next big franchise and due to it's sequel hook, I will anticipate for the sequel, The Scorch Trials, in 2015.
My immediate thought while watching The Maze Runner was just how close the whole premise was to Vincent Natali's sci-fi horror Cube (1997), both films featuring a group of people who wake to find themselves in a strange environment with no memory of how they got there. The big difference is that, where Cube was a brilliantly executed low-budget thriller with nail-biting tension and a thought provoking ambiguous climax, The Maze Runner is a mega-budget blockbuster that, for much of its running time, moves like molasses, and which ends leaving questions that we know will be answered, just so long as we shell out more cash to see the next couple of instalments.Obviously, at 47 I'm not exactly in the intended demographic for this film, but I do feel that this one missed the opportunity to be a hugely entertaining adventure for all ages. When the characters are in the maze, running for their lives from the grievers (metallic insectoid monsters), or dodging the changing architecture, the film is actually very enjoyable, but far too much time is spent in the relative safety of 'the glade', the idyllic green area at the centre of the maze where the boys first wake up. With my son currently reading the series of books, it's almost certain that I'll have to watch the sequels; I just hope that they make it a little more exciting next time around (and don't cut the film to reduce the UK rating to a 12 certificate. Grrrrrr!).5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
19 October 2014. The Maze Runner combines The Hunger Games (2012), Cube (1997), with Lord of the Flies (1990) into a rather fascinating mystery thriller for boys. For most of the movie, the consistency of theme and plot holds up well. The tension, the ever presence ominous sounds of the maze offers up a dread that is pervasively creepy. The stereotypical characters aren't usually overplayed and the over the top performances or plot points are mostly held back using instead more empathetic and humanistic portrayals.The ending seems like a cop out for a hoped for sequel unfortunately. And there a few moments that really do fall back into the stereotypical plot design. The humor however makes their appearances with to great effect though. This is more enjoyable movie than expected. It just misses out though being really innovative and can't quite break out of the mold of most of the other sci fi thrillers.
The next morning during his sentencing, Thomas is tied up and forced through the opening of the maze gates. Just when he is about to be set free on the other side of the wall, many people in the group turn their attention towards Gally. They force him to release Thomas so he can lead a group of runners through the maze to find the way out. Gally and a handful stubborn others think the runners are crazy for thinking they will survive the maze. They refuse to accept the fact that the time has come for them to make a break for it, leaving Ben and Thomas to lead the group of escapees to their freedom or their death before the sun sets.
It is easy to see that this place is a little different when Thomas realizes that the Glade is enclosed by a colossal maze. This maze not only keeps the members of the community trapped, but also seals objects in as well. 041b061a72