Entertaining Watch, Shaky Writing

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2014)

Before the trailer released, I had never even heard of the books. From the trailer, I expected a generic young-adult film that would still entertain me. Its premise seemed interesting though so I was glad to see this screening. Coming out, I can say that it was a fun 2 hours that was worth the time. However, several issues really bring it down and keep it from standing out.
Again, The Maze Runner did successfully entertain me (and the rest of the full theater from what I saw). It was action-packed and intense, definitely an enjoyable experience if you're looking for an exciting movie to watch. The visuals were great, and interpreted very nicely according to my friend who has read the books. The maze's design brings in a lot of different elements/influences from cultures around the world to make the environment appropriately interesting and incredible at times, in no small amount due to the visual effects.
The film started out smoothly, very quickly introducing its characters and setting up the plot (or at least what we know for now), throwing you into the action. However, as it progressed, a few things began to bother me. The writing in specific situations is a bit shaky, and ultimately it doesn't succeed well in separating itself from other generic, clichéd action films. A lot of the characters, their personalities/actions, are predictable, and that takes away from their development, at least for me. They essentially played into roles and did not establish their own personal and emotional connections to the audience, so there wasn't much weight to consequence that occur. In terms of the general story and background, I find that it takes a large amount of suspension of disbelief, and a lot of the things that happen or how they happen are expected to just be accepted.
Regarding the characters themselves, Dylan O'Brien pleasantly surprised me. I think he did quite well in his role and I am excited to see more of him. Aml Ameen as Alby also performed decently. However, that is the extent of my compliments for the actors unfortunately. No other character really stood out from the actors' performances, and some of them are unconvincing at times. Gally, as the "villain", was a weak character I find, and he didn't really have logical motivations for his actions. However, my friend who has read the book has told me that the characters are better fleshed out in the books.
Overall, I would have to place The Maze Runner with a 7, but verging on the lower side of that. It's definitely entertaining and I don't regret the watch. The writing and acting holds it back, but it has still set up a nice world and I am quite interested in seeing what they make of it next. Hopefully they will improve upon the issues found here. RATING: [6.5/10]