Review of The Maze Runner (2014) by Opinionatedguy — 07 Oct 2014

I have read the book first before watching the movie. There were a lot of changes in this movie. For some reason, I don’t feel any remorse about these changes. In fact, I am okay with these changes. It’s understandable that these changes were made to make the movie more action-packed. In the book, the plot moves itself and the character development are just fun, interesting parts to read.

The plot is just as good as the book and it’s really fast-paced during the entire movie.

The cast performances were great at the most part. I really enjoyed the performances of Dylan O’ Brien, Thomas Sangster and Will Poulter. They acted as if they were born to play Thomas, Newt and Gally! I am not so sure about Kaya Scodelario's performance about Teresa. She did not convince me enough that she is Teresa, not an actress playing Teresa. I think she is a good actress so I hope she improves her acting in the sequel.

The visuals of this movie are so breath-taking. It’s better than I imagined. It’s amazing and realistic and I said “Woah!” out loud in the cinema. The design of the Grievers were much more scarier than I imagined so it gives props to the visuals as well.

The direction from Wes Ball is really excellent. He cared about making this movie even in the smallest of details.

Lastly, the action scenes made me close to the edge of my seat. It was really well-choreographed which attributes to the cast’s performances.

For people who have read the books, you’re not going to be disappointed despite its changes. And with excellent cast performances from Dylan O’ Brien, Thomas Sangster and Will Poulter, amazing visuals and direction, this movie makes the entire Maze Runner trilogy a promising, better replacement for The Hunger Games.