I’ve waited a long time to go and see The Maze Runner, and I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed with the film, just a little surprised by it.
As a film, it’s an amazing production. Everything I normally look for in a film was there; a great soundtrack, believable actors, tear jerking moments and scenes where I could hear my blood pumping in my ears my heart was racing so fast.
But it was so unnecessarily different from the book! I’m still not really sure why the director and the writers changed so many aspects of the book, but I feel as though they cut out a lot of stuff from the book completely, as if they wanted to speed the film up and make it shorter. The changes they made still worked with the plot, however, and for someone who hadn’t read the books I think it would have made sense, which is the main thing.
The cast were perfectly chosen for the roles, and each character was well thought through and understood. So many films are ruined by rubbish acting and cheesy lines, but The Maze Runner managed to avoid that. The CGI graphics were also well designed and created, with no dodgy, obvious green-screen moments. Despite being very different from the book, the actual maze was incredible as well.
The film featured a few jump scares, which I wasn’t really expecting... although that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? What I mean is that I wouldn’t class The Maze Runner as a horror movie, so I didn’t think they’d have as many jumps as there were. The books are quite scary, especially the second one, but I think the film took the scary parts and made them the focus of the movie. The gore was kept to a minimum however, which made me happy, as so many otherwise fantastic movies have been spoiled by excessive blood and guts.
The soundtrack is jam packed with suspenseful string instruments and tribal drums, really assisting the movie with its jump scares and fight scenes. There’s a very orchestral feel to the music as well, with hardly any electric or synthesized instruments.
Overall, I’m fairly impressed with The Maze Runner¸ and I would definitely recommend going to see it. I think it is better to read the books first, however, because you are given a much deeper understanding of the maze and how it works, than in the film, which focuses more on the drama.
