'Maze Runner' Reviews: Should You Race To See It?
At long last, the Maze's doors are finally open.
Fox and director Wes Ball's "The Maze Runner" is in theaters now, adapting James Dashner's popular book series for the big-screen. It tells the story of a group of boys trapped in an evergreen field and surrounded by an ever-changing maze, as deadly as it is mysterious. Indeed, mysteries abound throughout "Maze Runner," but here's one question we can answer right now: What do the critics think of the new movie?
Read our review round-up and find out!
The Story
"A young man ('Teen Wolf's Dylan O’Brien) awakes in the throes of panic, rising through the darkness in a small metal box, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. His name is Thomas, though that little nugget of information won’t come back to him for another day or so, after he’s had some time to adjust to his new circumstances.
"'The Maze Runner' opens with this frightening entry, wasting no time on prologue or prelude. Within minutes, the situation is clear: Thomas is the newest arrival to The Glade, a grassy outpost populated exclusively by teenage boys, all ripped unceremoniously from lives they can’t remember.
"Surrounding their new home is an enormous, shifting labyrinth; each morning, 'runners' brave its narrow passageways, mapping its architecture and searching for a way out. Those who fail to return before nightfall, when the entrance to the maze closes, are never seen or heard from again." — A.A. Dowd, The A.V. Club
Getting to Know the World
"There is a lot of exposition right away—Thomas shows up, gets a tour, and learns the lay of the land within the first few minutes, and it’s a testament to Ball that this never feels like a huge pile is being dumped on you, even though it is. Aligning you with Thomas from the very first shot, this information flows naturally—you learn as he learns, and lucky for you, he’s curious and wants to know everything about everything." — Brent McKnight, Paste Magazine
The Gladers
"Boosting the film is the fine acting delivered by the key players: O’Brien as Thomas, who refuses to simply accept his quandary and is constantly questioning, and Will Poulter, that goofy virgin in 'We’re the Millers,' who is so different here as the cruel and angry Gally. Kudos too to young Blake Cooper, whose Chuck character will truly touch your heart." — Bill Zwecker, The Chicago Sun-Times
The Girl in the Glade
"'The Maze Runner' defies expectations on several levels, not the least of which is its avoidance of the now seemingly requisite teen-romance subplot. Although a girl (Kaya Scodelario) shows up in the Glade soon after Thomas does, there is, refreshingly, no canoodling, merely an understandable perplexity among her male peers, who have been living so long in their enforced man cave that they’ve forgotten what anything else feels like. 'Are all girls like this?' asks one of the youngest boys (Blake Cooper) with a tone of reverence and awe, as the new prisoner showers her cohort with a barrage of rocks, mere minutes after climbing out of the elevator." — Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post
The Danger
"'The Maze Runner' occasionally ventures into 'Lord of the Flies' territory, depicting violence that feels rougher, both physically and emotionally, than the usual PG-13 fare. Frankly, that also may appeal to the movie's target audience. 'The Maze Runner' is the first dystopian teen movie in a while that offers boys a room of their own." — Rafer Guzmán, Newsday
The Young Adult Factor
"Based on a novel by James Dashner, 'The Maze Runner' shares some DNA with previous Young Adult adaptations, but largely goes its own way. The tribal community of the glade reminds us of 'Lord of the Flies' more than 'The Hunger Games,' and the film’s only female character is never the center of a 'Twilight'-like love triangle. 'The Maze Runner' hews closer to standard boy’s adventure tropes than anything else, and it does so in a way that feels fresh, fun and surprisingly dangerous." — Devin Faraci, Badass Digest
Running Blind Through the Maze
"Not knowing anything about 'The Maze Runner' — not having read the book or heard much about it — isn’t a bad way to see 'The Maze Runner.' You experience the crazy story in real time, wondering where it’s going every step of the way, the mind uncluttered by issues of adaptation or fidelity or 'world-building' or whatever. That’s probably not an option for the film’s intended audience, of course, who have all presumably read the first installment in James Dashner’s popular young adult series and know where it’s all headed. Speaking for myself, I was quite riveted." — Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine
Are you checking out "The Maze Runner" this weekend?
