Explosive Start Devolves into a So-So Final Conflict! Still, Much Better than Most if the Recent YA Releases!

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2014)

'The Maze Runner' marks its run by setting its path ablaze in an explosive heart throbbing start. Right away, it builds its seemingly intriguing and smart storyline with a solid opening sequence, throwing us into immediate action and suspense as the first scene depicts the amnesiac teenager, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), struggling to find his way out of a rattling lift, ascending through a darkness-filled elevator shaft. Emerging to the surface, he finds himself surrounded with multi-ethnic boys who seem not surprised by his arrival. He is immediately welcomed to a commune of teenagers who have been struggling to find their exit from the world they've been mysteriously thrown into--The Glade, a forest dominated settlement surrounded by thick concrete walls whose only gate opens to an intricate and ever-changing maze, one the boys suspect to end up to their only way out of that prison-like expanse.
Knowing only his name, curious Thomas joins the league of runners who run into the "griever"-infested maze every morning, to unfold its secrets. His courage is convincing enough to earn him equally-earnest companions to run with him side by side, in his quest to discover the passage out of the Glade. That courage itself, puts growing suspicion to the tough bullying elder, Gally (Will Poulter), whom Thomas immediately finds to be his inevitable and insecure rival. Adding to the tension, is the arrival of the first and only girl in the group, Theresa (Kaya Scodelario), bearing a note that tells she's the last one.
There are many obvious elements that keep 'The Maze Runner' within the confines of the Young-Adult Adaptation genre: it happens in a post-apocalyptic era, young teenagers appear to be the last hope of a controlling dystopian society, and at its center is a young protagonist who would go through all lengths to escape his brutal fate. It is interesting to note though some attempts to set itself apart from the craze. Most notably, it doesn't have sexually-intuitive characters as it appears to be more focused on the action and adventures of the hero. The mood is also set in a darker tone, adding more excitement and suspense to its already intriguing premise. However, it's also not easy to shrug off some flaws in the film, flaws that could have been avoided if first time director, Wes Ball, had put equal attention to both the film's visuals and script. While it boasts stunning visuals, the movie's overall output is weighed down by some nonsensical clichés, bland dialogues and tiring one-liners, some not fully developed and utilized characters (ex.Theresa) and misplaced highlights, all these pushing the story out of its track. It feels as if it hasn't maintained, much less taken off, from the level of excitement and suspense it achieved in the first half. Towards the end, it loses grip of its the initial thrill, barely bringing back the intensity with a uninteresting final conflict. In the end it tries to save itself by hinting a promise of an inevitable sequel, one, I can say, it utterly deserves.