The Maze Runner

Books to Movies is a feature where I review movies based off books! These reviews are for people who have read the book, so spoilers are definitely within.

Rated: PG-13

Is it worth watching?

Whether or not you have read the book, it is absolutely worth watching - especially in theaters. The sound effects, the music, the whole thing is just too awesome.

Is it clean?

Thomas spits out a few s-words and one g--damn that is very hard to hear, so I'm actually not certain if that's what he actually said. The gore is down to a minimum, and the Grievers are surprisingly not disgusting (I'm okay with that).

How is the cast?

Chuck was spot on. Gally looked nothing like how I pictured him, and to be honest I actually liked and felt sorry for him in the movie. So he's just a bit different, but I was actually okay with liking him. Alby and Minho, too, are much nicer than they were in the book - much more forthcoming with Thomas. Again, I was fine with that. Alby looked much older than I imagined him in the book, but Minho was exactly how I pictured him. Theresa was awesome, too, and Dylan O'Brien was a very likable Thomas. I have no complaints about the cast.

Did the story stay close to the book?

Yes and no. I won't lie - there were a lot of changes, and many of them were rather key moments. But rather than cutting the key moments out, they replaced it with another key moment, and I actually found myself liking most, if not all, of the changes more than what was in the book. It worked for the movie, it sped the pacing up, and it actually added more of an element of urgency. The changes don't sacrifice anything important to the general storyline; rather, they enhance it.

Did they even get the little things right?

Well, here's where a lot of the changes were. Thomas arrives at the Glade not even remembering his name - it comes to him later. Alby and Newt are much more forthcoming in explaining what's going on. The Gladers don't have the cure for being stung by the Grievers, so being stung can actually result in death. I at first didn't think I liked this change, but I actually did because it made being stung much more frightening. Before you say, "But that changes a whole aspect of the story!" the makers planned ahead and fixed that, so don't worry. Gally was never stung, and his hatred for Thomas stems mostly from the fact that things start changing when Thomas arrived. There are no beetle blades, Minho doesn't find a Griever pretending to be dead (but he and Alby still go out in the Maze, and that whole thing ensues). Theresa and Thomas don't speak telepathically (but there's certainly opportunity for the director to add that in the next two movies), and the Griever Hole is made much, much more awesome. When the walls don't close and the Grievers come for the Gladers, they can take more than one Glader, and the setting is at night. I can't tell you how pleased I was that that scene was during night, because that's how I always pictured it, even though the sky was supposed to be a sort of grayish color. So, yes, there are a lot of changes - circumstances, motivations, et cetera are all tweaked. But it worked so incredibly well.

But the ending is good, right?

I liked the movie's ending better; I really, honestly did. It was more dramatic, more exciting, more urgent. They've set themselves up very nicely for the next movie.

So if I absolutely adore the book, will I like the movie?

Yes, I really, truly do. Like I said, there are changes. Big ones. But the changes are bloody awesome. They work in favor of the story, rather than against it. I loved the movie as much as the book, and in some cases more. The sets were incredible; the Maze and the Glade looked exactly how I pictured it. The ambiance was exactly like it is in the book, and this was largely in part due to the sound effects and music. The Grievers were creepy and awesome, and I loved how you mostly saw them at night. Ben's banishment was so incredibly scary and disturbing, and the Changing was just - ooh, so creepy. Even though I knew how everything ended; who died and who lived, I found myself very anxious for Thomas when he was in bad situations. This is a heart-pounding, awesome movie. I love what they did with it and I am positive that The Scorch Trials is going to be just as awesome. I can't wait.