Mapping the Maze Runner

Are you just sitting around looking for something, anything to do on a Saturday night?  Then the movie The Maze Runner is just for you.  This thriller of a movie will keep you wanting more and more until there’s literally nothing left to watch.

A movie filled with drama and excitement, The Maze Runner involves a mysterious game where “contestants” are brought to either die or beat Phase One of the maze and move on.  The wisdom it takes to even remember one part of the maze takes skill, especially when the maze moves and opens new paths every night.  Only a couple of people have the job of running the maze in hopes of finding a way out and hopefully, getting back to their original lives.  Although there is great tension with some of the characters, the drive that the “runners” show is amazing given their circumstances.

The movie begins with newcomer Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) who is brought to the maze in an unusual way. Like the rest of the teens there, his mind has been erased to the point where he doesn’t even remember his own name.  From the second Thomas arrives at the maze, he is curious about what lies inside the mysterious walls and soon realizes he wants to be one of the “runners” (which takes guts considering it is literally life or death in the maze).  The “runners” are the guys who have the unfortunate task of risking their lives if they don’t make it out and they are the only ones allowed in the maze.

Tension with another teen called Gally (Will Poulter) complicates things for Thomas, as decisions and rules of the place are broken. The teens come to believe they are finally on to a solution to the maze after Thomas comes across something unusual.  Whether he’s brave or just plain stupid, Thomas is the only one–with some help from fellow mazer Minho (Ki Hong Lee)– who might have a chance at saving them all from what they are up against.  Exactly what that might be is unclear, a fact which only adds to the tension.

This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat as you find yourself wanting to take on the maze yourself.  How well could you last in a maze of death filled with mysterious creatures trying to kill you and walls that might collapse on you at any moment?  That’s what you will wonder as you watch the journey of these teens and “contestants” who are trapped there asking themselves the same thing as you: Which way is out?  The Maze Runner is as exciting as watching fireworks on the fourth of July– definitely worth your ten bucks.  On a scale of 1-10, I give The Maze Runner a solid 9 with touches of 10.  I can’t wait to see what the sequels (two planned so far) have to offer.