My rating: 9 out of 10 stars
IMDB rating: 6.8 stars with 373,654 ratings

“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

 Cast:

Dylan O’Brien – best known as Stiles on “Teen Wolf” and a nerd, Stuart in “The Internship”

Will Poulter – the virgin, Kenny, in “We’re the Millers” and Eustace Scrubb in “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”

Thomas Brodie-Sangster – the voice of Ferb in Phineas and Ferb, Jojen Reed in “Game of Thrones”, Simon in “Nanny McPhee” and Sam in “Love Actually”

Joe Adler – in 13 episodes of “The Mentalist” as computer geek Wiley

Blake Cooper – I don’t remember seeing him in anything but he held his own with this talented cast

My 200 word review:

I followed my new rule and didn’t read any of the “Maze Runner” series until after I saw the movie. I was caught up in the story almost as soon as the movie started. Although I have stopped, I continued watching “Teen Wolf” even after it jumped the shark because of Dylan O’Brien’s Stiles so I was thrilled that he starred in this movie.

The talented young cast was excellent! The connection between O’Brien, Poulter and Brodie-Sangster felt authentic as did O’Brien’s Thomas’s concern for Cooper’s Chuck. “Chuck” reminded me of Chunk from the “The Goonies” fame and, since I’m a huge 80s fan, I’m ok with that.

The movie followed the book as close as they get nowadays. There were, of course, differences but I don’t felt that they were enough to upset fans of the series. Both the books and movie were interesting enough for me to want to continue with them. However, I did enjoy reading “The Maze Runner” more than its prequel, “The Kill Order”. Even though “The Kill Order” clearly explained how and why there is a need for “The Maze Runner” I would have preferred starting to read from the beginning of the maze.