I think the most surprised person right now is myself.
Namely, I did NOT foresee myself liking the Mazerunner movie, much less posting a semi-nice review on it.
Why is this a shock? Well, haha, I really hated the book and ran screaming away from it.
Strangely enough, no matter how skeptical I was, the movie was slightly nicer to me and is one of the few cinema experiences I've liked better than the book.
Also, I promise: NO SPOILERS!
Maze Runner Goodreads synopsis: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
If that last sentence doesn't give you chills I don't know what will.
So this movie was really well done. I think the thing that made it for me was that every character looked and acted almost exactly like I pictured them in the book. Thomas I had seen pictures of before, Newt was great, and MINHO. I swear, when Minho came on the screen I started hitting (gently, mind you) my mom and yelling "HE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE I THOUGHT HE WOOUUULLLLDDDDD!!!!!!!"
Because, let's face it. He does.
The plot was almost identical to the book and I LOVE that in a movie. Just think about the entire Hunger Games trilogy and the Lord of the Rings and The Half Blood Prince and yah basically all my favorite movies. There's a reason they're my favorite!
The weird lingo from the books was toned down and not as ugly/confusing, there was very minimal swearing if any, and the special affects weren't overdone. It was realistic with lots of muted colors and dramatic lighting.
The entire trilogy is full of one unanswered question after the next, and almost every chapter ends in a cliff-hanger-Curse you, James Dashner!- so I really appreciated how the movie went about answering them. They didn't do a knowledge overload, and spread out the answers over the first half of the movie. It certainly makes you feel sorry for Thomas, but it's easier on the audience for sure!
Oh and speaking of Thomas, besides Minho, he was the other person who was just REALLY well done. Gosh. He was brave, inspiring, and stood his ground. Dylan O'Brian did a fantabulous job portraying him.
JUST A NOTE: This movie DOES air on the more violent side, especially in regards to the creatures they show and the affects these creatures (grievers) have on people, so definitely heed to the PG-13 rating.
All in all Maze Runner was well done and a 4 star in my book!
Chloe Salts is an aspiring writer, pumpkin latte snob, sweater-loving sophomore who is slowly learning, day by day, what it means to fall in love with her Savior. Follow her on Bloglovin to hear more of her daily ramblings!
16 comments
Good review, Chloe! I got excited when I saw that you wrote this post, because I adore this movie (I actually just re-watched it last night!). It is fabulous. Like you said, the casting is so spot-on. They left out a lot of the character development found in the book but I appreciated how to-the-point and fast-paced it was.
ReplyDeleteAlthough...I like the book the best ;) One of my favorite series.
I KNOOWWW THE CASTING WAS PERFECTION!!!!!! (except for Chuck. I imagined him as a tiny, skinny little kid. What on earth gave me THAT impression?!)
DeleteIf I may ask, why did you like the book the best? I'm curious now!
I KNOW RIGHT. I MEAN MINHO? GOLLY. To answer your question: I actually wrote a post about the book and film, if you want to check it out! http://hannie96.blogspot.ie/2014/10/the-maze-runner-book-film.html
DeleteSeriously? That's awesome!! I will DEFINITELY be checkinhg that out! :D
Deletestill haven't seen the movie but i think i might have to this weekend. it sounds great! awesome review, thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!! It's a good movie for the weekend because you don't have to think terribly hard while watching it. It's also perfect for the weekend because it gives you time to FEEL ALL THE FEELS after watching. True story.
DeleteI actually haven't read the book (I've been hesitant to, and I normally LOVE Dystopian/Sci-fi YA novels), but the movie looks pretty good! :) This review was a lot of fun to read!
ReplyDelete[Savannah] in Wonderland
I generally love dystopian as well, Savannah, so I was really disappointed in the book trilogy and then really surprised in the movie!! You'll have to let me know what you think of the two if you ever take the plunge ^_^
DeleteThat behind the scenes GIF at the end of the post... that's me and my friends during theatre rehearsal, in a nutshell. I loved the series, but it kind of was like the Divergent trilogy for me: it got worse as the series progressed. I want to watch it so bad, but my brother isn't into that sort of stuff. He dislikes dystopia... I also saw this one photo. I'll just link it because it's much funnier if I don't explain it. It has something to do with dystopia and their movie adaptions: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-00T-tLEegnY/VNbeneQqQ_I/AAAAAAAAExs/GSPdK1e0ItE/s500-no/any%2Badvice%2Bfor%2B2015%3F%3F%2Bstay%2Balive.jpg
ReplyDeletexoxo Morning
Isn't it the GREATEST? They've got some smooth dance moves! (And so do you and your theater friends apparently if you look like that! Teach me your ways o.o )
DeleteYes!!!!!! Just like the Divergent trilogy. Downhill to the last page. Which is so depressing after all the hype both trilogies received!
OH MY GOSH THAT PICTURE IS ACCURATE BEYOND MEASURE. That's not just the 2015 theme, it's like every dystopian book/movie's theme ever. ^_^
i was so excited to see that you gave this a glowing review! i have heard nothing but good things about the Maze Runner, but have not yet been able to watch it, and as we seem to share similar tastes in movies i was doing a jig when i saw you loved it! makes me even more excited to see it!! and i agree 100% i don't think that they could have done any better on casting!
ReplyDeletexoxojana
Yesssss I did like it muchly and yesssss you should watch it!!!! Have you read the book trilogy yet? O.o
DeleteI agree--this was one instance where the movie was much better than the book. (I rarely say that. Like, ever.) I don't know, I just couldn't get over the crudeness of the book. It read like a first draft to me, and was full of telling and almost no showing. The only thing that kept me reading was the concept of the maze. (And the Grievers.) At the end, I was so disappointed. I couldn't believe I'd stayed up until 1am on multiple nights reading that. I felt completely cheated as a reader.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was a significant step up. The characters were SO MUCH BETTER and Minho was my favorite. (Yes, he looked exactly like I pictured him and that's probably why.) To me, Thomas felt utterly flat and whiny the entire beginning of the book, and I didn't care about him at all. Chuck was the one I cared about. I also liked how in the movie they didn't make the zombies at the end a huge deal. (Personally I wish they didn't exist. They seemed a bit over-the-top. Like, oh you just survived this maze and freaking GRIEVERS but now you get zombies. Congratulations, you've reached level two.) So the fact that they didn't stress that at the end of the movie made the climax feel more powerful. And more, you know, climax-y.
Anyways, I'll stop now. :P
Ahahahaha Emily I was wondering if you would comment after our previous discussion about how bad we thought the book trilogy was;) I would agree with pretty much everything you had to say! Why don't you write a blog post about this?? You were able to articulate your feelings way better than I did when I tried and failed. It's a hard trilogy to review, in my opinion.
DeleteYES TO MINHO all the way, movie-Minho was amazing. Thomas in the books wasnt terrible for me; it was Taricia (don't judge my spelling!) who really bugged.
I really hated the book too...I thought it was really boring in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI've heard some really good things about the movie though, and this review is very helpful in deciding that I do want to watch the movie! :)
Perfect post Chloe! I do agree, Minho looks EXACTLY as I pictured him while reading the book! I wish they had left in the whole "telepathy" thing between Thomas and Theresa though. It seemed kind of important to the story, and I always find that type of thing fun to read. But overall, I would also say that the movie was better than the book, and actually better than I anticipated!
ReplyDeleteHey! Person commenting! Yes, you. Wanna know something?
You're kinda awesome.