I discovered The Maze Runner Trilogy a while back. Seeing that I am such a sucker for such movies, I was shocked not to have known about these movies earlier. Not to mention that the main character Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is one of my favourite young male actors. So I quickly binged watched the first two movies in the trilogy ‘The Maze Runner and The Maze Runner: Scotch Trails.
I then waited for the next installation which was released earlier this year. Maze Runner: The Death Cure is the third and last movie of the trilogy. The movie is set a couple of months after where the last movie ended. It starts off as Thomas and his friends attempt to rescue Minho (Ki Hon Lee), their friend who got captured in the last movie. This happens as WCKD is trying to transport Minho and all other immunes to their main headquarters so they may find a cure to the Flare Virus that has wiped out almost all of mankind. You would have to watch the other two sequels to understand what I am talking about.
When the rescue mission does not go as planned, Thomas and his friends return to their hideout. Here we see a number of immunes who had been rescued from WCKD in earlier months. The plan is to restore an old ship and sail away where WCKD can never find them and use them like lab rats. Thomas is conflicted about leaving his friend Minho behind and goes off on a rescue mission.
As per usual, his friends tag along against his wishes and they set out to rescue Minho. The plan requires them to break into WCKD’s safest and most secure base. Along the way, they realize that they need help. The journey sees them forge new allies and even meet a couple of old ghosts from their past. A simple plan to rescue Minho blows up into an even bigger scheme with different parties chipping in for their own interests.
Since this is the last sequel, you can expect major losses for the gang as Thomas meets up with old arch nemesis’s and settle scores once and for all. We finally get answers about the mysterious cure that WCKD had gone to such great lengths to acquire. This movie is such an emotional roller-coaster which says a lot about the ability of the actors to bring out the best out of their characters.
The great thing about this movie is how great the action is without overshadowing the plot of the story. I also love that plot still humanizes the main characters instead of making them invincible as most action movies tend to do. My greatest highlight of this movie is that it finally tells the story of the people behind WCKD. We get to understand all their motives. Because truth be told, there is no bad guy in this trilogy. Thomas and his team are fighting for the survival of their friends while WCKD is fighting for the survival of all mankind. It is basically a moral dilemma.
Ironically, the greatest thing I loved about the movie is also the only negative I picked from the movie. There is some level of suspense on what Thomas chooses to do after everything has transpired. However, the ending brings us back to the moral dilemma. I would assume it is the writer’s way of letting the viewers make their own choice on how things should turn out. Generally, I think that it is a great movie. The perfect balance of action and story build-up. There are a couple of scenes where viewers will hold their breath in anticipation which is also great. I envy those who have not watched the trilogy. It is such a great one to binge-watch.
Rating: PG-13 (for extended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance use and language)
Genre: Action & Adventure
Directed By: Wes Ball
Stars: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Written By: James Dashner, T.S. Nowlin
Runtime: 2hr. 22min.
If you are a fan of such movies, you need to check out Divergent – Allegiant
