The Focus Pull Film Journal The Focus Pull Film Journal
The Focus Pull Film Journal The Focus Pull Film Journal
  • Full Issues 
  • Reviews 
  • Features 
  • OUR TEAM
  • Info.
    • OUR TEAM
  • Content
    • Full Issues 
      • Issue #01
      • Issue #02
      • Issue #03
      • Issue #04
      • Issue #05
      • Issue #06
      • Issue #07
      • Issue #08
      • Issue #09
      • Issue #10
      • Issue #11
      • Issue #12
      • Issue #13
      • Issue #14
      • Issue #15
      • Issue #16
      • Issue #17
      • Issue #18
      • Issue #19
      • Issue #20
      • Issue #21
      • Issue #22
      • Issue #23
      • Issue #24
      • Issue #25 - Horror Week
      • Issue #26
      • Issue #27
      • Issue #28
      • Issue #29
      • Issue #30
      • Issue #31
      • Issue #32
      • Issue #33
      • Issue #34
      • Issue #35
      • Issue #36
      • Issue #37
      • Issue #38
      • Issue #39
      • Issue #40
    • Reviews 
      • (All Reviews)
      • Action Adventure
      • Animation
      • Biography/History
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Foreign
      • Horror
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Features 
      • (All Features)
      • Bonding with Bond
      • Double Exposures
      • Essays
      • Event Coverage
      • Lists
      • New to Netflix
      • News
      • Retrospectives
    • OUR TEAM
REGISTER
@
LOGIN
Reviews
0
previous article
Review: Honeymoon
next article
Alex Cox: Embracing Punk and Spaghetti Western Sensibilities in "Straight to Hell"

Review: The Maze Runner

by Josef Rodriguez on September 28, 2014
Overall Rating
7.5
THE BOTTOM LINE

“The Maze Runner” is an extremely well-plotted, intelligent, and intense YA adaptation that ranks with “The Hunger Games” as being the best in the genre.

7.5
Critic Rating
You have rated this

The YA adaptation craze that has invaded Hollywood may be a sign that the death of cinema is nigh, but Wes Ball’s filmic incarnation of James Dashner’s “The Maze Runner” may be the light at the end of a very long tunnel. An artificial landscape known as the Glade has been built in the center of a sprawling maze, one with mechanized doors that close every night at sundown. The Glade welcomes a new member each month, and this time it’s Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), a mysterious young man who enters his new environment with the intention of leaving as soon as possible.

Consulting with the different factions of the Glade – runners, harvesters, and the like – it’s decided that Thomas will become a runner after saving the group’s leader, Alby (Aml Ameen), from certain death at the hands of the Grievers, metallic hybrids that roam the maze at night and destroy anything with a pulse. Facing pushback from another of the Glade’s officials (Will Poulter), Thomas bands together with a small group of believers who find more in the maze than they ever expected.

With its animator-turned-director at the helm, source material that was already chomping at the “Hunger Games” bit, and a modest budget of almost $35 million dollars, “The Maze Runner” is not, by any means, a film that should work. However, against all odds, “The Maze Runner” emerges as the champion of the late summer, a well-made and thrilling sci-fi adventure film that, for the most part, disregards its status as a YA adaptation. Gone are the oddly-placed love triangles and incomprehensibly knowledgeable Marty Stu’s that arrive just in time to save the day.

In fact, for the better part of this film, Thomas is blamed, punched, and attacked into submission, often shouldered with the responsibility of telling everyone what’s going on when, in actuality, he knows just as much as they do. In turn, much of “The Maze Runner” develops organically, with a focus on character and story that seems to be absent from most other YA films. Instead of an obligatory pair of acts followed by a rushed, incoherent third, “The Maze Runner” ends up being one of the most expertly-plotted films of the summer with a damn near symphonic blend of nail-biting action and well-written and performed character moments that successfully build tension without boring the audience into the next scene.

Written by “Catching Fire” scribe Noah Oppenheim, as well as newcomers Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin, “The Maze Runner” benefits from a refreshingly simple approach to its proceedings that allows the viewers to approach the material without fear of didacticism creeping up on them when they least expect it. Not busying itself with 9/11 imagery or strained thematics, the film functions as a suitably low-key adventure tale, one that could have been directed by Spielberg with a script from William Golding and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Its young ensemble does nothing but consistently impress throughout, and elevates some of the hokier dialogue from expositional to intriguing. “Teen Wolf” star Dylan O’Brien makes an impressive debut as leading man, while Will Poulter, who most viewers will recognize from “We’re the Millers,” takes a deliciously dark turn as Thomas’ adversary, while continually demonstrating his surprising range. The standouts among the film’s supporting performers are Ki Hong Lee, who plays the Glade’s premier runner, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who seems to be re-introducing himself to audiences after a focus on animated voice work and a brief stint on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” For once, a YA ensemble is put to good use and the result is electrifying.

“The Maze Runner,” if nothing else, earns the unique distinction of being the year’s most surprising movie. Somehow, director Wes Ball has defied all expectations, producing the best film to come from the YA sub-genre thus far. In its final scene, “The Maze Runner” sets itself up for a massive universe expansion. If the film’s creators are able to pull off a couple good sequels, we might just have the best new adventure trilogy on our hands.

Continue Reading Issue #22
Language

English

Release

September 17, 2014

Runtime

1 hr. 56 min.

Genre

Sci-Fi, Action Adventure

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Director

Wes Ball

Cast

Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Blake Cooper, Kaya Scodelario

(All Reviews), Action Adventure, Issue #22, Reviews, Sci-Fi
Aml AmeenBlake CooperDylan O’BrienKaya ScodelarioKi Hong LeeThe Maze RunnerThomas Brodie-SangsterWes BallWill Poulter
Aml Ameen, Blake Cooper, Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, The Maze Runner, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Wes Ball, Will Poulter
About the Author
Josef Rodriguez
Josef Rodriguez
Josef Rodriguez is a writer, filmmaker, and musician living in New York City. He is often labeled as "that guy who didn't love Boyhood" and he finds himself liking Harmony Korine films more than he likes his own friends. When he's not stressing over turning in reviews on time, Josef can be seen playing guitar, watching "Spring Breakers," or trying to write the next great American movie.
Comments
Leave a reply
Add Comment Register



Leave a Response
Cancel reply

The Focus Pull in your inbox!

Subscribe to this list, and we'll send you each week's new issue directly to your inbox. One email a week, packed with essential film writing!

Latest Reviews

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks: The 16 Best Films of 2016
 
Form and Function in Alex Ross Perry’s “Queen of Earth&...
 
Digging for Fire and Unexpected: Husband and Wife Process Parenthoo...
 
Every Thing Will Be Fine 3D Review

Latest Features

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks – The 17 Best Films of 2017
 
Taylor Sinople Picks: The 16 Best Films of 2016
 
Taylor Sinople’s Top 10 Films of 2015: “The Duke of Bur...
 
8 Films to See at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival

Our Partners

Advertisement

FESTIVAL COVERAGE

View All
 
8 Films to See at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival
 
Every Thing Will Be Fine 3D Review
 
Berlinale 2015: Eisenstein in Guanajuato
 
Berlinale 2015: Sworn Virgin
 
Berlinale 2015: Under Electric Clouds

LISTS

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks – The 17 Best Films of 2017
 
SNL40: A Look Back at 40 Years of SNL in Film
 
Six Must-See British Films Opening in 2015
 
Oscars 2015: Ranking the Best Picture Nominees
 
Our 26 Most Anticipated Films of 2015
Tweets by @thefocuspull
  • "Popcorn - check. Soda - check...I have a date with Netflix on Friday night." - Sherry
  • "[…] nails it.” I disagree, and frankly wonder what movies John is talking about. The original G..." - Dear Godzilla Fans: Please Stop Defending that ...
  • "[…] www.thefocuspull.com […]" - Annie Hall
  • "[…] more vibrant monologue or confrontation, like the dinner scene that comes at just the right time ..." - Taylor Sinople's Top 10 Films of 2015
  • "[…] of the year is also the stuff of a best picture winner. With Michael Keaton, hot off praise from ..." - Taylor Sinople's Top 10 Films of 2015
TRENDING ON TFP
   
Try a different filter
© 2014 THE FOCUS PULL FILM JOURNAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.