19 October 2014. The Maze Runner combines The Hunger Games (2012),Cube (1997),with Lord of the Flies (1990) into a rather fascinating mystery thriller for boys. For most of the movie, the consistency of theme and plot holds up well. The tension, the ever presence ominous sounds of the maze offers up a dread that is pervasively creepy. The stereotypical characters aren't usually overplayed and the over the top performances or plot points are mostly held back using instead more empathetic and humanistic portrayals.

The ending seems like a cop out for a hoped for sequel unfortunately. And there a few moments that really do fall back into the stereotypical plot design. The humor however makes their appearances with to great effect though. This is more enjoyable movie than expected. It just misses out though being really innovative and can't quite break out of the mold of most of the other sci fi thrillers.

A boy named Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) finds himself in an all boy Lord of the Flies type of camp. They are surrounded by a huge wall that opens into a maze. Two runners, run the maze by day and must leave by night or else the "Grievers", a giant spider like creature will hunt them. Thomas is not satisfied with the status quo and makes waves. Eventually a girl (Kaya Scodelario) shows up.

If you are a teen or tween and like all those kids save the world offerings, this one falls in line. The film is done well enough to hold your interest as the Maze creates a mystery for our human lab rats. The ending tells you why it was done, which still didn't make any sense...and why all guys, or why only one girl? It leads to a sequel. The acting was bland. The dialogue needed zip and Gally (Will Poulter) was a boring antagonist. Good enough for the kids who won't know the difference.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

It seems that Hollywood is always looking for the next franchise film series aimed mostly at young adults. Following in the wake of the "Harry Potter" films, other series were quickly put into production to see if they could be the next billion dollar franchises. Some, such as the "Golden Compass" simply fizzled whereas "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" hit pay dirt. In light of these big bucks, it's not surprising that "Maze Runner" would make it to the screen, since it's just the first of three books--three books which seem strongly inspired by "The Hunger Games"...only a bit gloomier. And, given that it's already earned about three times its cost just here in the States, it's not surprising that the sequel is due to be released next September.

So is the film any good? Well, it looks nice. Other than that, no. It's violent and nihilistic without the interesting social commentary or originality that you get from the "Hunger Games" films. Instead, it's just ultra-violent and nasty--with scores of teens being killed for our entertainment. Plus, in the "The Hunger Games" films you have plucky and likable characters with some depth, but in "The Maze Runner" they seem much more flat and ill-defined. In other words, they're mostly just there to be killed or survive but little else. Overall, it's a film with little depth, lots of nasty mayhem and a cast of cute boys meant to appeal to the same folks who love "Twilight".