My review will contain spoiler for both the book and the movie. Viewer discretion is advised.
Where do I start? hmmm... okay..
I'm usually have an unusual high expectation when it comes to a movie adaptation from a novel that I like.But by now, I have accept the fact that the book will always be better than its movie adaptation and the only way to actually enjoy the movie is simply by enjoying the movie as it is and not comparing it to the book. (*I'm still working on that, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job this time.)
I read the book last year. I bought the whole series on my birthday (*except for the prequel). The book was delivered one day before Christmas and I finished reading all of them on January. Since then, I've read like 14 book, so I didn't quite remember exactly how the story went.
I didn't say that it's the best books-to-movie adaptation (*for me, that title is reserved for Catching Fire), but it is the first time I've ever watch a movie adaptation and not disappointed by it. There are some changes of course, but let's talk about that later.
I love the fact that the movie captured all the momentous moment from the book into the movie. Every. Single. Thing. Ben's banishment, the night in the maze, "she's the last one ever" , the doors isn't closing, etc. I'm actually pretty impressed when I watched the part when they spend the night at the maze. It's true to the book. I really love it when the scene in the movie matches with the scene in my head when I read the book. The movie maker is doing a really great job on this movie.
I like the cast. Everyone's role is just perfect. Dylan O'Brien portrayed Thomas perfectly. Kaya Scodelario made a great Teresa, Thomas Brodie-Sangster made a great Newt, Ki hong Lee made a great Minho, Will Poulter made a great Gally and Blake Cooper made a perfect Chuck.
I was kinda hoping that Gally will be more annoying. Movie-Gally is kind of annoying but book-Gally is what you'll find on the dictionary when you look up the word 'prick'. But he's annoying enough, though.
I really like Chuck. He's just plain adorable...which made me really sad because I know what will happen to him at the end of the movie.
And let's talk about The Griever. This creature looks more menacing in the movie than the creature that I imagined when I read the book. I imagined the griever as a slug combined with some metal, but the movie interpretation of The Griever is really amazing. Slimy, mechanical, toothy, fast, and dangerous. Just like the book described it.
Thomas' dream sequence is also one of my favorite scene. A glimpse of Thomas' past which consist of the faces of the 'doctors' of some sort, the operating room, the futuristic equipment, and that woman who keep saying WICKED is good.
Okay, now I'll write the things that are missing from the movie / changed from the book.
There isn't any memorable quote from the book, so there isn't any direct book quote that is used in the movie.
I've heard on the internet that the whole telepathy thing between Thomas and Teresa will not appear in the movie. I really hope that they did, though. It's one of the thing that I really like about the relationship between Teresa and Thomas.
And the ending of the movie is quite different in the book. They didn't solve the puzzle that is the pattern from the maze like they did in the book, but I like their alternative password for the maze's exit. And if I recall correctly, they should sliding down in some sort of a slide, but they didn't. It's just some minor thing, so it's not really matter to me anyway.
And in the book, when they finally find the exit, they stumble into a room and they saw a lot of guys in white coat watching them from behind a glass. No interaction. But in the movie, they entered a room which is filled by the dead body of said guys in the white coat and then they watch this video of a woman explaining about the whole environment changes and a disease called The Flare.At the end of the video, she committed suicide (*that's pretty dark, but that scene is really good too). Then it's the scene when Chuck died.
When I watch the movie, I was kinda hoping that they will make some changes, like keeping chuck alive or something. But unfortunately, this movie is true to the book and just like the book, Gally killed Chuck in his attempt to kill Thomas. I knew that this is going to happen, but I really really hate the fact that Chuck
died when the help is almost there. So close, yet so far.
And then some soldier burst in and escort the survivors into a chopper (*instead of bus). And then the movie ended when when the woman who supposedly die by suicide called a meeting about the phase two of the trial. This ending that suggest that there's more of this story. I like this kind of ending. In the book, it ends when they're all 'held' in some sort of dormitory or something. Maybe it's better to end the movie just like the movie maker intended.
I heard that The Scorch Trial is already on production, I can't wait to watch the sequel.
So that's it, my review to The Maze Runner movie. Have you watched it? What do you think about the movie?
