Maze Runner: The Death Cure doesn’t deliver the answers that it promised. Its overemphasis on action takes away from the mysterious elements of the story and forces dialogue-driven scenes to be rushed. The movie is worth seeing if you have already seen the first two or are a fan of the books, but it probably won’t be a movie you want to see again.
Stop right here. If you haven’t seen the first two Maze Runner movies or haven’t read James Dashner’s original trilogy of books yet, this probably isn’t the movie for you. Each story builds off the events of its predecessors but doesn’t offer a recap or review. You’re expected to know what happened last time, who the important players are, and why characters are making certain decisions. On that note, this review will contain spoilers for the previous two movies; however, it will not reveal major plot points or details of The Death Cure.
So, without further delay, let’s start with the official description of the film from Twentieth Century Fox:
“Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final mission. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all! Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.”
When we last saw Thomas and the other Gladers, they were searching for WCKD-resistance group the Right Arm. They were just beginning to relax when Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) revealed that she had betrayed them to WCKD. Jansen (Aidan Gillen) and his soldiers destroyed the Right Arm’s base and captured many of its members including Minho (Ki Hong Lee).
The Death Cure picks up six months after the end of the previous film and opens with a major action sequence. Thomas and his friends ambush a WCKD train in an attempt to rescue Minho. This scene is actually the reason the release of the movie was pushed back by a year. Actor Dylan O’Brien was seriously injured in a stunt performed for this scene, and filming had to be delayed to allow his recovery. (Oddly enough, the scene isn’t in the book.)
One strong element of this action-packed scene is the movie’s excellent use of audio. The overall soundtrack for the movie feels edgier and more intense than in the previous two films. It helps drive the movie’s more action-based approach and helps to build the tension in many instances. Sound effects are also sharper and clearer in this movie, and it’s noticeable even from the opening scene.
We won’t reveal if the Gladers were successful in rescuing all of their friends or not, but let’s just say the movie doesn’t end after the opening scene . . . Got it?
Ok, good, moving on – the Gladers’ journey to rescue Minho and the others leads them to the Last City. It’s within the walls of the Last City that Teresa and Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson) are experimenting on Minho and other human subjects. Teresa explains to a panel of WKCD board members the necessity of human subjects in her quest to find a cure. Though he has no lines, author James Dashner makes a cameo as one of the three board members in this scene.
The Gladers arrive outside the Last City only to discover that it is yet another maze. Its design is that of an intricate labyrinth, and the outside is lined with advanced weaponry and guards. Just when it looks like the Gladers may be delayed again in saving their friends, they find another surprise.
One of the movie’s best twists is the return of a major character. If you’ve read the books, you know exactly who it is, but many unfamiliar with the story can probably guess. (After all, we haven’t met that many characters in the first two films.) Regardless, this returning character plays an integral role in getting the Gladers into the Last City and is one of the best parts of the movie.
Before entering the Last City, the Gladers also meet a mysterious man named Lawrence (Walton Goggins). Lawrence has the flare, yet he’s being kept alive through expensive treatments. Due to the disease, he is more physically deteriorated than most of the Cranks we’ve seen. Goggins manages to deliver a strong performance that shows through the layers of makeup. He can clearly do a lot with a little material, but he isn’t given enough screen time, and his character feels almost irrelevant to the central plot.
The story continues with the Gladers infiltrating the Last City and attempting to rescue Minho; however, Lawrence’s group also launches their attack against WCKD, Jansen and his agents are hunting the Gladers, and the flare is an ever-present threat. Who will make it out alive? Will the Gladers finally get the answers they’ve wanted?
A major strength of this movie is the performance of its cast. The younger cast members have grown in terms of acting range throughout the filming of the series. This movie is O’Brien’s best of the three. Another strong performance is given by Ki Hong Lee as Minho. Due to the experimentation he must endure, Minho goes through an emotional roller coaster in this film, and the actor’s delivery in each different scene and circumstance is exceptional. Thomas Brodie-Sangster was probably already the strongest actor of the original group. He was dedicated at least, as he placed a rock in his shoe to ensure that he would never forget Newt’s limp. Yet again, the actor delivers another wonderful performance. While we aren’t given the same detail into Newt’s backstory that we are in the book, Brodie-Sangster helps to tell the story with his performance alone.
Unfortunately, the movie is lacking many other strong qualities. It’s not just Newt’s backstory that is missing from the movie. We are hardly given any details (new or old) about our characters. The movie’s biggest flaw is that it promised to provide all the answers, yet never delivered on that promise. Viewers are left with many of the same questions that they already had. This is especially frustrating when it comes to Thomas and Teresa and their backstory with WCKD. We also aren’t told nearly enough about WCKD and its current employees. The overall lack of answers is disappointing.
It almost feels like the action and big-budget scenes were given top priority at the expense of slower, dialogue-heavy scenes that could have provided those answers. Rather than explain the science and crucial details of the cure, we are given long, drawn-out action scenes. While visually entertaining, they offer little new information or explanation.
A lot of these bigger action scenes are also a little too hard to believe. For example, a bus is carried by a crane and then dropped from a significant height. No one is injured. These moments look cool, but make it hard to suspend your disbelief. They almost take you out of the story.
Previous films in this series have had moments when characters just happen to show up at the exact right second, but this movie uses that ploy far too many times. Nearly every time someone is in danger or there is a moment of suspense, another character arrives at just the right time to provide help. It’s never explained how they know where to go or how they manage to nail down that timing so well.
Overall, Maze Runner: The Death Cure doesn’t deliver the answers that it promised. Its overemphasis on action takes away from the mysterious elements of the story and forces dialogue-driven scenes to be rushed. The movie is worth seeing if you have already seen the first two or are a fan of the books, but it probably won’t be a movie you want to see again.
Special Features
The 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, & Digital HD combo pack comes with two discs and the code for the digital version. All special features are found on the Blu-ray disc only, with the one exception of the audio commentary track found also on the 4K Ultra HD disc. The special features include:
– Audio Commentary by Director Wes Ball, Screenwriter T.S. Nowlin and Producer Joe Hartwick, Jr. (also on the 4k Ultra HD disc)
– Deleted & Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary
– “Unlocking the Cure”
– “Going Out on Top”
– Gag Reel
– Visual Effects Breakdowns and Visual Effects Reel with Optional Commentary
– Gallery
