Maze Runner: The Death Cure Review
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Maze Runner is now officially a trilogy! Sucks to be Percy Jackson and Mortal Instruments at this point. Another worthy thing to address is that this final instalment isn’t divided into two parts! The director Wes Ball said he did not wish for The Death Cure to be split into two films, and that’s very commendable. After Dylan O’Brien suffered from stunt injuries while filming on set, the film’s release date was pushed back until January 2018 in order for the actor to recover. Maze Runner: The Death Cure takes place after the events of the Scorch Trials, and our main hero Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) decides to hijack a train to save his friend Minho (Ki Hong Lee). The organization WCKD want to experiment on Minho to find a cure for the Flare virus infecting their world. While the first two instalments of the Maze Runner series were quite mediocre and clichéd, The Death Cure felt like an improvement.
Dylan O’Brien still shows charisma as the lead of the film. He’s a really committed actor, and you can tell he’s having a lot of fun on set. It’s interesting to see him evolve from a confused person who doesn’t remember anything from his past to a complete badass wanting to make a difference. It’s one of those rare cases where the audience can’t imagine anyone else playing Thomas besides O’Brien. However, the real standout is the character of Newt played wonderfully by Thomas Brodie-Sangster. He has great chemistry with Thomas, and their friendship is one of the most memorable aspects in the entire film. Ki Hong Lee’s scenes as Minho were really intense when he was being experimented on by this sinister organization. That being said, other characters such as Brenda (Rosa Salazar), Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) and Frypan (Dexter Darden) have less development compared to Thomas, Next and Minho, which makes them quite forgettable.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
It’s no surprise that Maze Runner fans will understand what’s happening in the film, but casual moviegoers might be confused. While the intro was undeniably well-filmed and really entertaining, it would have been better if there was a small montage in the beginning that summarized the events of the last two films. What the Maze Runner movies do well, compared to other youth adult novel adaptations, is that they’re actually gritty. Even if it’s rated PG-13, you feel like they could die, which adds tension to the action scenes. WCKD soldiers aren’t afraid to aim their guns at children, and that’s actually worth praising since not many movies would be willing to show bad guys hurt kids in brutal ways. The Death Cure doesn’t really have an interesting story, and at times it does feel uninspired especially when it comes to the bad guys’ point-of-view.
If you want to check out a fun popcorn flick with awesome action sequences and great performances from some of the actors, you might enjoy The Death Cure. Maze Runner fans might find the final instalment of the trilogy satisfying in some way. While it’s not ground-breaking and original, it’s an entertaining film that still has fun with its characters and its post-apocalyptic world.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure is now playing in theatres.
