Some big problems, but it's pretty entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (21 September 2014)

The newest YA fantasy adaptation, I went to see this because, one, I hadn't seen a movie in theaters for about a month now and, two, because the trailer set up an intriguing enough mystery that it got me interested. A bunch of teen boys awake without memory to find themselves prisoners in a small glade surrounded by gigantic walls. Beyond the walls lies a maze, and when the doors to the maze close at night, monsters come out of the wall to kill anyone who has remained in the maze. The boys believe there may be an escape in the maze, but are unable to find it as they search throughout the day. When a new kid (Dylan O'Brien) arrives, he is a bit braver than the rest and enters the maze at night, which ends up changing all the rules of the boys' society. This movie offers a bit of fun and excitement, for sure. There are more questions raised than answered, and there seem to me to be some fairly big plot holes. The characters aren't particularly well developed, and, as it moves towards its conclusion (as much as it has one - of course it's a series of novels), it kind of reveals itself to be much closer to The Hunger Games than you might have originally thought. But I did enjoy myself, and I'd recommend it if you like these kinds of movies. It'll play well enough on video.