Another generic young adult dystopian fantasy, but there are some solidly suspenseful moments.
What Works: For a long while, the mystery of a moving, seemingly organic maze is fairly captivating. There’s a real atmosphere of suspense and dread in the first two thirds that hooks you. And it’s only after the movie is over that you realize just how little you actually saw…
What Doesn’t: …The “answers” (vague as they are) to the maze aren’t really compelling, and the ending disappears into an all-too-typical young adult dystopian scenario. Plus, there’s an antagonistic red-headed bully-boss character (the kid with the crazy eyebrows) among the boys who makes no real sense to me. Like why exactly is he so angry at the lead all the time? He seems overly pissy and damn-near like a resentful housewife in his complaining, like the lead might say “I found a way out of the maze!” and you halfway expect the antagonist kid to be like “But you haven’t said a word about the pot roast I slaved over all day!”
What I Would Have Done Differently: The ending is too obviously a cliffhanger for the next installment and not satisfying on its own. Oh, and maybe bought the red-headed bully some Xanax so he’ll be in a better mood.