THE MAZE RUNNER

US, 2014, 113 minutes, Colour.
Dylan O' Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie- Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson.
Directed by Wes Ball.

There have been so many Young Adult stories in recent years, from novels turned into films, which show dystopian societies, the revolt of young men and women, the power of the authorities and the need for rebellion, that these films form part of a now recognisable movie genre. The Maze Runner is an interesting addition to The Hunger Games series, the Divergent series, The Giver.

What it a group of older male teenagers found themselves in what seems the countryside, called the Glade, where they can’t remember anything about themselves except their names. They have managed to subsist, growing fruit and vegetables, no electricity, rough housing, and their having to get on well with one another, not knowing why they are there? And, surrounding the Glade is a very high wall, with an opening, into what they call the Maze. Some of them have been nominated as runners, going into the maze but having to get out before it closed its massive entry.

Some of them become ill, stung mysteriously, going into the maze to die.

At the opening of the film, a young man arrives, confused, Thomas, who immediately tries to run but is caught. He is given a tour of the Glade and finds that some of the group like him, especially Newt, an intelligent leader, and a chubby young boy, Chuck. On the other hand, there is the hostile Gally, who insists that the rules are the most important thing and that they can never get out of the Glade.

Thomas soon appears as a leader as well as critical of the group not trying to escape. At one stage, he rushes into the maze to save someone who has been stung. He encounters huge metallic monsters, called The Grievers. He and another runner, Minho, find a central metal core with a light in a Griever which may indicate a possibility for escape.

In the meantime, they are surprised when a young woman is sent up mysteriously from the elevator, knowing her name, weary, and then defensive against the males.

It must be acknowledged that the sequences of the young men in the maze and the pursuit by the Greivers is highly and adrenaline-pumping. And this is heightened when a group, as might be expected, try to escape through the maze.

There are intimations throughout the film, especially in Thomas’s dreams, where he sees laboratories and scientists going about their work. This is explained at the end – but not entirely because, as the mysterious Doctor announces before the final credits, they must move to the Phase.

The young cast is particularly strong, especially Dylan O’ Brien as the strong-minded and keen-witted Thomas. Young British actors who have appeared in a number of British films, Thomas Brodie- Sangster and Will Poulter, are particularly good as the sympathetic Newt and the obey-the-rules-at-all-cost Gally. Patricia Clarkson is also effective as the seemingly sympathetic doctor.

With the young people out of the maze, it will be interesting to see what happens in the Next Phase.

1. A Young Adult story, principally for male audiences? Dystopian societies? Post-apocalyptic societies?

2. The title, Thomas and his achievement, his leadership, leading the group out of the maze?

3. Thomas, the arrival, the elevator, the confusion, forgetting his name and his past, the reactions of the young men in the Glade, Thomas and his running, being caught? Alby, friendship, giving him the tour of the Glade? Gally and his animosity? Newt and his friendship?

4. The Glade, its look, the people at work, self-sufficient? Lamps and no electricity? Clothes? Rough accommodation? The food coming from the box and their growing it? One new member a month? The three years?

5. Thomas, his bewilderment, remembering his name, the dreams of the laboratories and his puzzle? People liking him, antagonism? Newt and his friendship and leadership, helping with the decisions? Three days of settling in?

6. The visuals of the maze, the elaborate sets, the movement, the monsters and their look, mobility, going into action, destructive and fighting?

7. The rules to be obeyed, Gally and his holding to the rules? Leadership? The nomination of the Runners? Minho and his leadership? Chuck, young, chubby, loyal to Thomas, helping?

8. Alby and Minho, in the maze, Ben and his being stung, deteriorating, going into the maze, expected to die? Alby and his being stung? Illness, carefully, his coming to consciousness?

9. Thomas going in, helping Alby, lifting him onto the wall? Minho and the attacks, fighting the monster, retrieving the central core? His taking Thomas to his reconstruction of the maze?

10. The arrival of Teresa, the surprise of a young woman arriving, the note and its saying she was the last? Her knowing her name? Going onto the tower, throwing the stones on the men in defence?

11. The picture of the monsters, their structures, their movement, destructive, the central core with the light on, the number, seven?

12. The attitudes towards Thomas going into the maze, his coming out, Gally saying he should be punished? His night in the cage, then his becoming an official runner, wanting to examine section 7? The monsters, opening up the doors, seeing the possibility of escape?

13. The maze and the visual changes, the attacks, people taken, destroyed? The small group, whether to take stands or not?

14. The group going with Thomas, the fights, the code, opening the exit?

15. The intimations in the dreams about the laboratories? The arriving in the labs, seeing the technicians dead, the video with the doctor explaining everything, her shooting herself, seeing the body? The message, the tests on the youngsters, for a post-apocalyptic world? Gally, getting out, the gun, his being killed, shooting Chuck, Chuck and the little statue for his parents, giving it to Thomas?

16. The board meeting, the doctor still alive, the explanation of the plan, the manipulation, the tests, the future?

17. The surviving children, going to the helicopter, the future – and the doctor talking about the Next Phase?

18. The contribution of this film to the growing number of dystopian stories from Young Adults, Hunger Games, Dive urgent, The Giver…?