"The Maze Runner" Offers A Bleak Outlook On Life

The Maze Runner (2014)

PG-13

Starring Dylan O'Brien, Ami Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelari

Directed by Wes Ball

The Story:

Thomas (O'Brien) awakens in The Glade, with no memories and attempts to fit in with the other boys that live there. There's leader Alby (Ameen), resident a-hole, Gally (Poulter) and the leader of the runners, Minho (Lee). Once Thomas arrives, he questions everything and begins to unsettle the environment. These young men survive in the wild, and attempt to navigate a giant maze on the outskirts of their settlement daily. So far, no exit has been found, but there is something sinister within the walls. When the first female arrives (Scodelari), the rules all change forever, and the colony must do what it can to survive.

Based on a true story.

Gosh, I hope not!

Welcome to another dystopian future young adult novel turned into cinematic franchise.

It's not horrible,

It's not wonderful.

There will be a sequel.

However, the ending has the most pointless death I've seen in a movie in a very long time.

That it took up almost 2 hours of my life and that was the most emotion that the film elicited from me tells you that for the most part, this movie is simply average.

Final Grade: C

The Future Is Decided By Facebook Personality Quizzes... "Divergent"

Divergent (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Miles Teller, Kate Winslett, Tony Goldwyn

Directed by: Neil Burger

The Story:

In a dystopian future (is there any other type?) the survivors of a war that ravaged the world (or at least America) have been divided between 5 factions to keep the peace.  You have Amity (Peaceful), Erudite (intelligent), Abnegation (Selfless), Candor (Honest) and Dauntless (Brave).  Each has its role in society and keeping the peace, and when children come of age, they take a test to see what their aptitude is, but they still have one last choice that they can make at a ceremony.

However there are those that the test does not work on.  They are called Divergents, and they are being dealt with, permanently.

Welcome to the latest Young Adult fiction to be turned into a trilogy (or larger) movie franchise.

The story centers around Tris (Woodley) who is a Divergent growing up in Abnegation but just doesn't feel it like her parents (Judd & Goldwyn).  At the ceremony, her brother chooses Erudite and Tris goes for the Dauntless.

Needless to say, their parents are a bit crushed.

The Dauntless then initiate the newbies into their ranks under the lead of Eric (Courtney) and Four (James).  Only they are upping the ante and kicking out the worst recruits as the tests get harder.

If you are kicked out of a faction, you become one of the faction-less, which is the future buzz-word for the homeless.

Not only does Tris have to survive her training and remain with Dauntless, once she learns that she'll be targeted if anyone finds out she's a Divergent, well, that takes the last half of the movie to unspool.

Believe me, it's a long movie also.

While she doesn't have the charisma or chops of Jennifer Lawrence, the rest of the cast, especially Four, try and keep the audience engaged.

However, some poor casting choices on several of the characters end up making several people irrelevant in the overall scheme of things because they are very difficult to tell apart from one another.

Final Grade: C/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I didn't love it, but I hardly hated it.  I'll be back to check out the sequels.