Well done

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2014)

I'm going to start this review out by saying that I walked into this movie no knowledge of the book series, so all I know is what friends of mine told me happens in the book; which I learned after the movie ended. From what I was told, they did leave out certain aspects of the book, and slightly altered the ending, and I believe that these book aspects were unnecessary anyway, as they made a film which told an exciting story anyway, regardless of the story the book told.
My criticisms of the movie are that the ending wasn't very original. Knowing nothing of the books, I was surprised because I didn't know that there would be a series out of this, and it wasn't just a stand alone film. This definitely helped me appreciate the ending more than others, but now that I know, I can look back and realize that the set up for the sequel was just awful. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that they could easily have made it more subtle, and it would have improved it quite significantly. My other concern is that it predicable to a certain degree, and when they find out why they are in the maze, it seems like a situation that is being overused these days.
Having said all that however, the film did manage to excite me for the sequel, which I didn't even know was going to happen. The CGI was pretty good, there were some iffy moments, but overall I was impressed. The story also managed to remain interesting while setting up for the climax, with incredible action sequences, and one really tough to watch scene about how they deal with a deadly infection. This scene was emotional, and hard to watch, but it brilliantly illustrated how desperate and helpless the boys in the movie are.
The films highlight was the acting. There was not a single moment where the acting was bland, which was a nice surprise to me, considering the youth in the cast. Kaya Scodelario did have a few moments where you could tell she was struggling to fight her British accent, but her acting was still well done. The three highlights of the cast were Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Will Poulter especially, who was fantastic. These three actors more than anyone were great in every scene they were in.
Overall, I give The Maze Runner an 8/10, because the story, effects, and acting were great, while the ending could have been better