Darker and more exciting than I was ready for...

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2014)

Since I'm in my 30s, tween dystopian films don't speak to me like they do for the younger generation. However, they are big bucks and, until "The Hunger Games" end or they just stop making money, there is no end in sight for them. Too bad too many of them look exactly the same"The Maze Runner" was pleasantly different.
I had some reservations about this film but it proved to be more action-packed, more exciting, more dramatic, and a lot darker and grittier than I was prepared for. Not only was this a pleasant surprise that made the film a lot more entertaining, engaging, and intriguing but it also set the film apart from the usual, formulaic tween films that make up this specific subgenre. The only thing I really didn't care for in this film was the casting of Will Poulter. He isn't a bad actor but he just wasn't right for the role he was cast in.
I thought "The Maze Runner was going to be a generic, by-the-numbers formula that is too prevalent with the tween dystopian subgenre that is all the rage now but the film really set itself apart and the cliff hanger ending really has me pumped to see the next one.