The Maze Runner will leave you ready to run… to your library to read The Scorch Trials for more of the Gladers’ story.
Good news: The Maze Runner‘s adaptation will appeal to readers and non-readers alike, with enough book material to please even the most devout fans without alienating those that may not know Thomas and company as well. Wes Ball and the team behind the film brought the gut-wrenching story from James Dashner to the screen in brilliant fashion. It doesn’t suffer from many of the pitfalls experienced by other YA adaptation box office bombs like Eragon or The Golden Compass, but instead offers a solid, well plotted story full of twists and turns that keep your fingers clenched tightly around your seat until the final moments.
One reason that the story translates so well is that the most successful element from the book shines through on the screen: the characters. In the book, Thomas is a likable, determined young man that just wants to do what he thinks is right. Dylan O’Brien brings that to the screen in spades without losing one bit of Thomas’ toughness or ability to carry the enormous burden that has been placed upon his shoulders. He absolutely radiates Thomas’ stubbornness and puts those preposterous talents of his on display for all to see.
In addition to casting the role of Thomas superbly, they also nailed the young men portraying the other Gladers with incredible precision. Aml Ameen was an unbelievably convincing Alby, Blake Cooper replaced this writer’s vision of Chuck, and Will Poulter embodied Gally’s ferocity with passion we couldn’t have imagined was possible. This film depended upon the right group of young men (and a lady) being brought together, and they got it exactly right.
Yet another example of why this book translated so well to film was that Wes Ball and his incredibly talented crew found a way to bring the world of the Gladers to life in such vivid detail. The world is both fully fleshed out and confining in the best ways possible. The Glade does not present the boys an abundance of riches, but rather provides shelter from the maze and a place to survive. The dirt and general starkness of a civilization founded and built by young boys contrasts beautifully with the larger-than-life reality that is the Maze. In the same way that the Glade is limiting and confining, the Maze is an expansive, towering giant, and a presence all its own. Watching the way it moves and reforms is terrifying and mesmerizing in equal measure as walls fall and shift to trap our heroes in with the Grievers.
Speaking of the Grievers, the only visual enemy that the Gladers have to fear in the film is a creature that is by definition unimaginably horrible. While described in great detail by Dashner, Grievers are almost meant to be more terrifying than is possible to actually create in your mind. The beings that Ball and his impressive group of visual artists created fit the bill and left this fan more than a bit worried for Minho and the other runners.
The elements that were purposely left out (e.g. the telepathy, the beetle blades) didn’t feel like necessary factors to the story. In fact, the film felt like a stronger whole without them, and sets itself up for overwhelming success by telling a riveting tale of survival over circumstances that are way beyond these boys’ control.
While this isn’t the small budget film that The Fault in Our Stars was earlier this year (with a $12 million budget), it most definitely doesn’t compare to the big budget YA adaptations of late. The Hunger Games and Divergent, for example, ring in with $78 million and $80 million budgets respectively. The Maze Runner‘s modest $30 million budget puts it in an excellent position to be a runaway success. Fox definitely believes in the series’ prospects, as they just green lit the sequel, The Scorch Trials, and Wes Ball and T.S. Nowlin are already hard at work on the script.
All in all, this movie is the perfect way to wrap up the summer movie season and shift us into the dramatically intense fall season. It’s big enough in scale and concept to stand its ground against the action blockbusters, but has an incredibly intimate story to tell that reminds us all of the preciousness of every moment of our delicate lives.
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