Movie No. 34 (2015): THE MAZE RUNNER

The Maze Runner (2014)
Director: Wes Ball
Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter, Ki Hong Lee

Movies that have setting in a dystopian realm don't impress me most of the time. The Maze Runner was one of the movies showing on board on my way to New York from Incheon. Most of the other movies to choose from were uninteresting. I was intrigued so I gave it a try. And it really made my long flight shorter by almost two hours.

The premise of the movie is interesting. The movie tells of a boy (Thomas) who wakes up in a strange place that seems to be isolated from the rest of the world by an enormous maze. A group of  boys his age have been trapped in that place. He has no memory of himself except for an organization called WIKD (or Wicked). There, he and the other boys agree to enter the maze, which opens and closes occasionally, despite violent disputes, to find clues that might help them escape from their 'prison.' 

This is not the best of the genre. However, it has all the cinematic elements of a decent film. It has no pretensions. It avoided the boy-girl romance, despite the presence of an only girl character, that may just unnecessary drag the narrative. The strong acting performances of practically every cast are conspicuous.

Rating: 3.0/4.0

Date seen: July 18, 2015