#watched: The Maze Runner (2014)
Admittedly, perhaps I was a tad "resistant" to watching THE MAZE RUNNER back when it premiered in 2014. Perhaps I was a tad resistant to yet another "young adult"-novella turned celluloid trilogy ala The Hunger Games (which I enjoyed till this day), The Divergent Series, and before that, Twilight (I have the entire movie series on DVD, don't judge me) … so yeah, maybe I was a bit tapped out of the whole genre…
As freeing is the notion that I do not read ANY of the books the movies' stories are based on, so frankly, no skin off my backs if I missed any (unlike, of course "comicbook movies", for which I am guilty as charged for loving, fhanks!).
I watched MAZE RUNNER because one of my (ex) film students liked it, and recommended it - and who am I to expect students to listen to me, if I did not even attempt to listen to THEM? So I watched, and found I enjoyed it decently enough to want to watch the sequel: SCORCH TRIALS!
The premise is pretty much condensed in the first film, nothing too altruistic or oblique enough to raise eyebrows (but I am sure there are twists and turns aplenty to come?), and everything pushes forward, on and on, and that pretty much kept me interested, as I need not invest too much time and energy into self-doubt, self-pity and general selfishness of "growing up" seen in numerous escapades before this … as "truth" as it is, it may well seem too indulgent a notion compared to "survival", ya know?
Or I have simply forgotten what it was to be a growing teen with a mountainful of self-doubt on his shoulders … no, actually I didn't, the self-doubt is still resting on my shoulders now, I just choose sometimes to ignore it's tedium :)
Shades of "Lord of the Flies", with a predominant all-male cast - something "refreshing" amidst the recent spate of "girl power" films - but dudes not at all interested in a lone attractive female? With so much testosterone flinging about? (Great, now I read like a filthy old man, fhanks).
Maybe it is easier to ignore certain aspects of the film, to be able to "enjoy" it - the cardboard cut-out characterization, the thinly-veiled apocalyptical premise that needs to be further explored - not including the obvious exposition at the lab (near the end of the film) … or, maybe I am just over-thinking it, as a
(FYI: The only "maze" I liked was in 1986's "Labryinth", because, well, "Jennifer Connelly". 'Nuff said.)
One thing is for sure, watching them run, it reminded me of my love of sprinting - not that I was any good at it, not at all actually, just that I had loved to run, when I was a kid anyways … and I am thankful for little memory jolts like this.
A decent 2 bags of popcorn out of 5, a bit on the lukewarm side tho, and needs some reheating to make it pop-pop-POP!
Will know further if I truly enjoy this, when I watch The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials! :)
"Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape." (IMDb)
