Maze Runner

A boy wakes up in a hole. 

The start of Maze Runner is speechless, breathless and captivating, as our central protagonist finds himself speechless, breathless and in captivity in a rising grated crate through a deep mechanical well. With the focus on the immediate plight of Dylan O'Brien's amnesiac nameless teenager we share his confusion, and as a crowd of adolescent faces peer into said well and he is is dragged into the light, mentally and emotionally we, with he, explore his situation. It's a powerful conceit and forces the audience to find visual clues to fill in the story gaps rather than being told them. Five minutes later newly named "Greenie" gets the full setup delivered on a roughly hewn plate from group leader Alby (Aml Ameen) which swiftly undoes all of the great work done in the previous five minutes.

Which kind of describes the film as a whole. There's a lot to like, and frequently there are surprising and strange moments that make you feel like there is far more to discover in the Glades - the central park of the titular maze housing a community of mind-wiped teen boys - which then gets swiftly explained away or ignored. It leaves the story feeling a little linear and it never quite finds the strength to expand and grow, and the greater mythology around it lies under the surface of the story rather than permeating through it.

It seems like an opportunity missed, and even when you consider its core audience (8-14 year old males), young people nowadays are far more adept at understanding what does and does not make a great movie to know when they're being underserved. That said this is a far stronger effort than, say, the Percy Jackson adaptations, and its Lord of the Lies themes of truth, deception and reality a far more interesting proposition than CGI mythical creatures smashing each other. The microcosmic society, the miniturisation, exploration and manipulation of peoples behaviours and interactions a pre-teen 1984 in a post-Big Brother world.

This group of boys, living a peaceful existence surrounded by towering walls, know the hand their dealt and make the most of it. A few of their number take flight into the labyrinth by day searching for a way out, returning before nightfall for fear of the mysterious and murderous grievers. When Thomas (formerly Greenie, formally unnamed) arrives his inquisitive nature leads to all manner of disruptions. It becomes appropriately grim in places, the full metal arachnid grievers and their raptor growlings a vicious blend of muscle and metal, and the level of guts and goo when one gets squished between two walls will delight and disgust pre-teens and parents alike. A twilight massacre is particularily brutal. The merry band of kids are interesting if pretty stereotypical character tropes - the strong angry one, the fearless leader, the funny fat one, the intelligent brave one (aka. Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello) but each is played with layers of desperate survivalist fear undertones. And then, all around, there's the maze.

A metaphor for the journey through adolescence? Maybe. As a representation of the impossible odds life has in store it is imposing and quite literally crushing. It's also inventive and well designed for some thrilling set pieces that are used sparingly but expertly. It's the questions of the who and the why that elevate the maze from being a purely physical opponent to an intellectual one, though this is where the film once again slips up. The more interesting who's and why's are there, they're just not...there. Every now and again the questions get asked, and then swiftly it's back to worrying about staying alive. Survival may be the most basic instinct, but there's bigger and more interesting answers out there, and they get lost amongst the running and clanging of metal and brick.

Director Wes Ball should be given a lot of credit for the positives - the acting is solid, the pace good, the action excellent and the whole thing looks great. And maybe its meagre $34 million budget has something to do with its leanness and thereby its missteps, but some things are unforgivable, such as Kaya Scodelario's Teresa who as the lone female is delivered midway to shake things up, and then swiftly disappears into the band of boys serving no discernable purpose, or the last minute dumbo drop of information that, yes, does come as a shock and surprise but also feels like it could've been either been supported more throughout the movie or leaned out and saved for the sequel. As it is it's a little left field and feels like it's playing catch up, throwing backstory and exposition at you for the sake of it. It should've been handled more deftly, and the audience given more credit. 

Which is a shame to end on such a confusing note, after starting so intriguingly. But overall this is an interesting and well made young adult adap, with plenty of promise and far more to say than the average tween-bait.

A boy wakes up in a desert.