Movie Adaptation Review: The Maze Runner

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image source: here. edited by me.

MOVIE ADAPTATION of The Maze Runner read my book review on The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner

“Just follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does.”

I was so excited with the release of The Maze Runner movie adaptation, and want to quickly go see it. I finally got to see it while I celebrated my friend's birthday, and it was so action-packed and full of thrilling excitement. I had mixed feelings though after I finished watching it; I was satisfied but also disappointed a little bit at the same time. But still, I was on the edge of my seat most of the time because the scenes are so gripping - even though I already knew how it would end.  So here's my non-spoiling review on the movie adaptation of The Maze Runner.

Just like the book, the movie started directly with Thomas inside the elevator - not knowing anything, and his memories gone - going up to the Glade. He was welcomed by a group of young boys and Thomas is just so bewildered by the fact that he appeared in this unknown place surrounded by walls. Slowly, the boys introduced him to this place called The Glade - which is surrounded by a maze that closes when the sun sets. While he's trying to figure things out, Thomas became extremely curious with the maze and did things that are against the rules.

I'll probably stop at that and save all the thrill and excitement for you to enjoy (if you haven't read the book or watched the movie yet). The first thing I want to mention is how grand the setting is; I absolutely love The Glade and of course, the almighty Maze. The setting was far better than what I expected and I'm really happy about that. However, The Griever (the creature that comes out at night in the Maze) was a lot creepier in my imagination - but the scenes with The Griever are still very intense and made me anticipate what's going to happen next (even though I already knew how the story's going to progress from the book).

The movie adaptation progressed a lot faster and certainly made a lot of changes from the book - because I know 2 hours wouldn't be enough to cover the whole book. A lot of things need to be explained, and so Thomas didn't get much time to discover the Maze. Even the Beetle Blade (a mechanical beetle that kept an eye on the Gladers) is not present in the movie. The way Thomas figured out the Maze is also very different from the book. In the movie things seems a lot easier; and I guess that way the problems can be solved quicker. In the movie, Teresa and Thomas are not telepathic like they are in the book - which is totally fine because I think it would be awkward. And there are still several more differences between the movie and the book (some might be spoilers, so I won't mention them all here) - but thankfully the movie plot managed to deliver the main story pretty well. For me, it's a good thing they rearranged everything to fit the movie adaptation instead of only changing one or two things.

However, what I was a bit disappointed about is the lack of characterization and the relationship development. If you've read my review on The Maze Runner, you'll know that my favorite character is Minho. Not because his name is Korean, but more because of his personality and bold lines in the book - which gives depth to his character. When I watched the movie, I was anticipating his lines so much - but then he doesn't even talk that much which is sad ㅠㅠ (I love his running though, not complaining). As much as I love his character and Kihong Lee's portrayal of Minho, I wished he had more lines to show more of Minho's badass personalities. And by the way, why is Newt not limping?! There's a really deep story behind that limp and the movie is not going to put that in? :(( And then there's Thomas and Chuck's relationship - which supposed to get a bit emotional towards the end, but unfortunately I felt nothing because they barely had much interaction during the movie. But then again, most of the movie duration goes to the action and intense running scenes - which are great, and it eased my disappointments a bit.

Another thing that I love from the movie is the perfect casting - especially Minho. Like I've said, Minho is my favorite character in this trilogy; and I made him look so awesomely good in my imagination. So I had a really high expectation for the actor who played as Minho. Thankfully, Kihong Lee showed up with his authentic Korean-face, and he's just perfection. I love how his hair always looked good even after running around the Maze all day long - while everybody else are all sweaty and filthy. Among the other Gladers, Minho looked the most fashionable with that denim shirt and cutie little backpack. He look good dirty, lol. Dylan O'Brien portrayed Thomas pretty well too, and I love how his facial expressions increased the intensity of the scenes. I hope these two will have better chemistry in the next movie, because I need more bromance! ♥♥

 

As I've said in the beginning of this review, I was both satisfied and a bit disappointed with the movie - but of course I still love it all the same. How can I not love the movie adaptation when I'm so addicted to the book? I always understand that a movie adaptation have a very limited time to deliver the story from a book which has tons of description. And I'm thankful for the producers who made one of my favorite books come to life with the perfect casts and awesome setting. My friends who haven't read the book could understand the movie perfectly and enjoyed it to the fullest - although they do have some questions in mind (which also happened to me when I read the book - so I reckon that's normal). So whether you've read the book or not, I encourage you to go watch this amazing movie! Even though I still think the book was much better than the movie adaptation, I'm really looking forward to The Scorch Trials movie adaptation - planned to be released in 2015. So excited!

  by.stefaniesugia♥ .