I had never heard about this film until the teasers and posters started popping up here and there earlier this year. It both sounded and looked completely generic. Two kids in some kind of dystopian world, seemingly pre-destined to change it for the better. I didn't think anymore of it until just yesterday when I noticed it was having a pre-premiere the following day. There was nothing else of interest screening, so I just into it with the thought that I'd at least be somewhat entertained for a couple of hours. And I'm happy to say I was.
"The Maze Runner" is more or less all I look for in a film with a genre like this. It has a mysterious plot, a bunch of kids who don't really know anything, a main character who's unique from the rest, and a web of inter-personal politics and teenage emotions. It's not going to win any awards for directing, acting, or writing, but it's fun and entertaining from beginning to start. I was worried that there would be a lot of downtime, as other films of the genre often have. They stop the plot to focus on a romantic relationship, some unimportant squabble between self-declared leaders, or anything else that's not overly significant to the overall plot. "The Maze Runner" contains all these elements, but it does a very good job at controlling them in its own best interest. They don't take over the film, they don't stop it in its tracks to show off what they've got. They're just there, in the background, waiting for a slight lull in the action so that they can be noticed. The romantic relationship is perhaps the best handled, as in there isn't one. There is one girl/woman within the first few circles of characters, and there isn't a single line or look where some romantic intentions are implied. It's refreshing really. The only downside is that she's got very little to do compared to her apparent role in the overall plot, she doesn't even show up until halfway through the film. But it seems that she's going to be a lot more important in the upcoming films, so it's excusable.
The core concept of the film itself is also very intriguing. A gang of kids are sent to the middle of a giant maze, left to fend for themselves. Every month a new kid is brought to "The Glade", as they call it, bringing with them fresh supplies of food and equipment. None of them remember anything except for their names, so they have no idea what they're doing there or who sent them. Surrounding them on all sides is a gigantic maze towering tens of metres into the air. Thick concrete walls shift every night, making the maze nearly impossible to navigate at any given time. This is where the titular "Maze Runner" comes in. A squad runs out in the maze every morning when the walls shifts to allow them entry, and stays out all day in the search of a route that will lead them to the other side. If they don't make it back by nightfall there's no getting back to The Glade all. No one has survived a night in the maze.
Overall I found much enjoyment in this film. It's not overly original or special, but it's fun and exciting from beginning to end. I cared about the characters, I wondered what was going to happen with them, and how they were going to react to what was happening around them. The almost two-hour runtime went by a lot quicker than I'd expected, and I was left wondering what was going to happen in the next installments. Not in such a way that I was frustrated, it felt like it had an actual ending, a place where you could be fine with there not being anymore films, but I was excited and happy by the prospect of getting to revisit the universe and tumble even further down the rabbit hole.
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