The Maze Runner

When i grew up in the 80´s, there was a film that our generation of teenagers loved. It was called The Goonies. A story of young teenagers trying to find the treasure of One Eyed Willy, became a hugue box office success. This was 1985, almost 30 years ago. Ever since The Goonies lots of teenage action films have been released in all kinds of stories. Some of you might remember Toy Soldier from 1991 ? No matter what kind of teenage action film you enjoyed, there was something for everyone. I would probably even mention Small Soldiers from 1998, in a sense this was a teenage action film, but it also had influences from saturday morning cartoons. Times have changed and this genre is not as popular anymore, as it used to be in the 80´s and 90´s. Nowdays it seems that teenage vampire movies like Twilight find a bigger audience, and i still don´t understand why. Is it because of the romance ? No, i think it is because these teens who love these films simply have a really bad taste. Am i rude ? Probably, but i am being honest. We did get something better this year for the teenage audience with Divergent, a mixture of teenage action and sci fi that worked pretty well. And of course we have The Hunger Games, with 2 good films released so far. The Maze Runner is based on a novel by author James Dashner. This is his first novel in the series, diveded into 5 novels. I have not read any of these books, i simply discovered The Maze Runner through a trailer release. Not knowing almost nothing at all about the story, i decided to go and see it in the cinema. Is the first film The Maze Runner a great start from the 5 novels, or should they never have made a film adaption of the first novel at all ?

Thomas ( Dylan O´Brien ) wakes up in an elevator, taking him to a strange location. He have no idea how he got in here, or why he is travelling in this elevator. As he arrive to the surface, the gates open and he finds himself in a place called Glade. Here he meets other teenagers who live here, in a forest area, trying to survive with hard work and no way out. Thomas finds out the elevator sends supplies to them, along with new people sometimes. The Glade leader Alby ( Aml Ameen ) tries to explain how life is supposed to work here, and teach Thomas the rules. Thomas is curious about the big stone walls located in the Glade, with a gate opening into a maze. This is forbidden ground, and only those who are called Runners are aloud to enter inside the maze. Thomas become good friend with Chuck ( Blake Cooper ), as they enjoy themselves at a party, celebrating the new member Thomas. One day as Thomas is gathering supplies in the forest, he is attacked by one of the Runners, named Ben ( Chris Sheffield ). But something seems wrong with him, he have been stung by a Riever, a beast that is inside the maze. Thomas finds out there is supposed to be a way out of Glade, if you find the right gate in the maze. But he is not allowed to go in there. Glade´s enforcer Gally ( Will Poulter ) is very strict about the rules, and does not like that Thomas is curious to find a way out. Another teenager arrives from the elevator, Teresa ( Kaya Scodelario ), the only girl so far who arrived to Glade. Thomas suddenly get flashbacks, as if he could remember seeing Teresa from somewhere else. Why are they placed here in Glade ? Who is responsible for this ? And is it possible to get out of the maze ?

I did not expect to find myself in this situation. But i actually enjoyed The Maze Runner for what this is, a teenage action adventure film. And this is actually a quite well made motion picture also. The best surprise is that the acting is great, from many of the young cast actors, they really try and give a performance that fit this genre. Director Wes Ball, have only directed short films in the past, he also worked with visual effects on british film Beginners. The Maze Runner is his feature film as an director, and i have to say he did a good job bringing the novel to life. I would not say everything works, but i am still surprised how well made The Maze Runner is. This film actually reminded me of the classic 60´s film Lord Of The Flies, where a group of young buys are stuck on an Island and have to learn to survive. I enjoyed the remake even more from 1990, and this version is said to be more made as the book was written. I have not read the novel based on The Maze Runner, but as the first film based on the first book, i feel this is a good start. One of the actors i really feel pull this off great is Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who you might remember from Game Of Thrones. For his young age, he have a talent to find his character and you can feel his presence on screen. Will Poulter also delivers a strong performance , as the selfish and agressive Gally, who thinks he knows what is right and wrong in all situations. This might be scary for very young people, since there are some scenes that have some creepy moments in the maze. For people between 11 - 15, i have a feeling you will love this. And i am 37.....am i even supposed to be here ? What the hell, im young in my mind i suppose, and maybe that´s why i had a good time with The Maze Runner. Anyone want to run in a maze with me ? No ? Boring bastards.

Rating: DDD