Review: The Maze Runner

Those with genre fatigue may groan at yet another film adaptation of a YA series concerned with surviving in a dystopian future. To its credit, The Maze Runner manages to be a solid, if not particularly original, piece of entertainment.

Thomas (Teen Wolf's Dylan O'Brien) awakens in a freight elevator that deposits him in the Glade, a vast expanse of meadows and woods enclosed within towering concrete walls. Welcomed by de facto leader Alby (Aml Ameen) and his second-in-command Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Thomas is apprised of the rules of the Glade: do your part, never harm another Glader, and never go beyond the walls. Following the rules means maintaining the order of the society these lost boys have created.

So many questions, so little answers. No one knows how any of them got to the Glade or why they were brought there; there's no memory of their lives before the Glade. Every morning when the walls open, the designated Runners led by Minho (Ki Hong Lee) run through the maze, memorising its every turn in the quest to find a way out. The Runners need to return before nightfall, however, or risk being trapped overnight with the Grievers, giant mechanical spiders that patrol the maze. No one has ever survived a night in the maze.

Yet Thomas does after he sprints inside to rescue Minho and an injured Alby. A later venture into the labyrinth leads to the discovery of an electronic device retrieved from the Griever that Thomas defeated. There is a way out, Thomas just needs to convince nthe others that going into the deep heart of the maze is their best chance at freedom.

The Maze Runner benefits from director Wes Ball's handling of the action. There's an economy in the staging and in the deployment of special effects that heighten the suspense - particularly effective in a scene where Thomas and Minho evade Grievers and moving blades as they dash through the maze. The screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin suffers in the first half - the initial installment of a franchise (a sequel, The Scorch Trials, has already been greenlit) tends to fall prey to the set-up syndrome of dry exposition and superficial characterisation - but does establish all the necessary points for the ensuing sequels.

One can only hope that O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario (the lone shot of estrogen in this testosterone-dominated tale), and the rest of the cast have more to work with in the sequels. One of the inherent risks of any franchise is in the casting of its central character. One can't imagine anyone but Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and, for better or worse, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as Bella and Edward. The Maze Runner's lads are fairly indistinguishable and O'Brien doesn't possess the grit or charisma needed to render Thomas worthy of attention. At least hopefully not yet.

The Maze Runner

Directed by: Wes Ball

Written by: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, T.S. Nowlin; adapted from James Dashner's novel

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson, Blake Cooper