A version of TV's SURVIVOR show . . .

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2014)

. . . in which the contestants are slightly younger and do a better job of keeping their clothes on, MAZE RUNNER would NOT last long on the "boob tube." MAZE RUNNER's tribal councils are too short, and the lack of an immunity idol takes away most of the suspense. Biomachines probably were "old hat" by the time the original ALIEN flick was released, and the HARRY POTTER franchise exhausted any possibilities for giant spiders left open by THE LORD OF THE RINGS series. HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, and THE GIVER all have carefully-crafted "back stories" that make honest attempts to establish a Screen Reality. MAZE RUNNER would be less unfair to consumers if its ads were required to have "black box" disclaimers stating, "Do NOT expect to enjoy this movie if you have not read the book first!!" Throwing in some last-minute Dystopian gibberish from a previously unseen elderly White actress who seems destined to be revealed as a VISITORS-style Lizard Lady in Part Four of the MAZE "trilogy" would only confuse anyone with an attention span not up to reading long book series BEFORE coming to the multiplex (assuming they were still paying any attention to the final half hour of this misfire).