'The Maze Runner' has high-speed action, muddled plot

Hurdling upward fast, and with no visible escape, Thomas -- the protagonist of “The Maze Runner,” played by Dylan O’Brien -- seems to be trapped in the world's scariest dumbwaiter. Released last Friday, “The Maze Runner” is a movie adaptation of James Dashner’s 2009 novel of the same name, and it begins with every acrophobe’s worst nightmare. It’s also a high-adrenaline ride, guaranteed to increase audience members’ heart rates along with Thomas’ volatile journey.

Directed by Wes Ball, “The Maze Runner” attempts to keep up this rapid pace throughout the movie’s 113 minute run. Based on Dashner’s young adult dystopia, Ball’s version of “Maze” is unapologetically structured as an action movie. The breakneck speed is sometimes exhilarating, sometimes nauseating.

After surviving the most stressful elevator ride in history, Thomas finds himself in the Glade, a large meadow populated by boys, ranging in age from pre-teen to young adult, and surrounded by immense concrete walls. Waiting just beyond those walls is the Maze. A shifting design of narrow passages and dead ends, the Maze is patrolled by grievers: fearsome, spider-like monsters made to kill. Unable to accept the boys’ simplest rule -- don’t leave the Glade -- Thomas pushes the others to try to escape the Maze and discover who put them inside it.

If this premise is already making your head spin, or if you’re having serious Divergent series flashbacks, you’re not alone. “Maze” is somewhat plot-heavy -- it is, after all, based on a 375 page book -- but important details are sometimes lost between high-velocity moments. The movie's cinematic genre hinders the actual story of “The Maze Runner” from coming through properly.

Thankfully, while its plot could have been more carefully developed, “Maze” offers other things to appease audiences. The cinematography is gorgeous, turning the familiar landscapes of the Glade and the Maze into ever changing backdrops that give a rustic beauty to the boys’ bleak fight to survive. That is, with one serious  exception. The rendering of the grievers is a let down; these monsters eerily recall the aliens from, well, “Alien”(1979).

The wonderful characters introduced during the movie's early scenes (some of the few times “Maze” slows down enough to let us sink into its imaginary world) are undoubtedly the highlight of the film. Each boy we meet in the Glade is more vivid and intriguing than the last. Probably the most likable is Alby  (Aml Ameen), the stalwart and wise leader of the group. In a tie for most adorable are Newt, played by the dashing Thomas Brodie-Sangster -- all grown up since “Love Actually” (2003) -- and Chuck (Blake Cooper), two of Thomas’ staunchest supporters. And most likely to explode in an angry rant? That’s Gally (Will Poulter), hands down.

The excellent performances given by these young actors make the movie worth the aerobic workout it takes to follow the ups and downs of this pulse-pounding flick. However, the portrayal of Teresa (played by Kaya Scodelario), the only young woman in the Glade, is perhaps the film’s biggest disappointment. Simply put, Teresa is a non-character. She has no memorable traits other than being pretty and a girl. As audience members, we never get to know or like her -- she’s simply too undeveloped for that. To be fair, this doesn’t seem to be Scodelario’s fault. Unlike her co-stars, "Maze's" action-oriented script and direction simply don’t leave her anything on which to build.

“The Maze Runner” is an action film targeted to young adult audiences, and while that may not please everyone, it’s no reason to dismiss the movie entirely. What “Maze” does do, it does well. Superbly choreographed fight sequences and groan-worthy gore are guaranteed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats for every heart-stopping minute.