It’s time to enter the maze

THE MAZE RUNNER A group of Gladers led by Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) react to a shocking discovery in THE MAZE RUNNER. TM and © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

They were thrown in the maze.

They got stuck in the maze.

They got out of the maze.

Yes, that’s pretty much the backbone of the story. It was not the most sophisticated movie in the world, and the story is not the most innovative and creative story in the world either. But it does not mean it cannot be fun and entertaining.

The story was about a group of teenagers who found themselves pushed into the central of the maze, unaware of where they were and what happened to them, and had to regroup themselves to take care of each other and find the way out through the treacherous maze. However, despite their efforts, the way out seemed to elude them time and time again, until the appearance of Thomas and Teresa changed the balance and gave them some hope again.

This is basically a story of survival, the story of how those kids fought against the odds, made use of whatever tools available to them, grouped themselves together to take care of each other, built a mini society and took the roles in it, and continued fighting for a normal future outside the maze, to get back their old lives, which had been taken from them and which they had no idea how or why. It’s like watching survival, on the big screen, with kids as the players.

By now, you may have known that this movie was actually adapted from the first book of a trilogy. That might be the reason why the story is not too lame, with a surprising twist in the end that opened up the story so that it could be developed further. There was no lack of actions, and the thrill level was kept high throughout the movie, as we followed the teenagers’ desperate efforts to find their way out of the maze, knowing that their days were numbered and the longer they delayed, the worse fate they would be suffering as their enemies were merciless, monstrous killing machines. However, I still feel that the movie is lacking something that can transform it from good to great. Maybe some star power, or potential star power (think Jennifer Lawrence or Shailene Woodley). Or maybe some romance to soften it down. I’m not sure. And I am also not sure whether this will just be a medium success or it will be a game changing franchise like Harry Potter or Twilight. But for the later to come true, there must be a major success in the second movie, as I did not really see it in this first instalment.

This movie introduces a new actress, Kaya Scoledario. She has starred in a few movies and TV series so far, but none very popular, and mostly small supporting role. This can be considered the first time she is in a lead role in a blockbuster, and according to the Hollywood formula, her future success will tie closely to the success of this franchise. So far, some have managed to ride on and become big superstars, while some have failed miserably and disappeared from the scene. Will she fail or will she success? Time will tell, but I feel even if the movies may not be huge success, it will still be enough for her to attain a certain level of star success and celebrity status. She is beautiful, she can act. What else do you want to ask? Maybe a bit of luck, which is still on her side, at least for now.

She is an actress, and also a model. A simple search will throw up a lot of photos that she has taken for various ads and magazines, and so far they look really good. So, nothing to complain.