I did not see that last twist coming.
Of course, it makes sense once you realize it's a setup for the sequel. This movie makes a great "first-in-a-series" film. Although there was significantly less humor than other "firsts" I have seen, the characters are engaging and the setup was well done.
The opening was great. It reminded me at first of 2001: A Space Odyssey, only much shorter. The dark, the sounds of the machine, the frantic noises of a frightened boy; then flashes of light, and a rising sensation, and a crash. It not only sets the mood, but the time era, as well. It rules out at least 5000 years of the past, so it must be present or future. This makes it intense right away. Anything set in a time period relevant to to the viewer creates a connection. It is in playing with these empathetic connections that filmmakers are able to give you their emotions. This produces thrills and tears, laughs and relief.
The way in which the characters were introduced made it easy to see who was going to play a main role and who was not. Obviously Thomas is a main character; he is the first one we see, and who the camera follows most regularly. He challenges the system. Chuck is another obvious choice. Once he is introduced, he stays in several following shots. He has a conversation with Thomas early on. Then there's the girl. The dynamics between the boys is relatively steady. It's always interesting to watch what comes from a mind when children are placed in wilderness. Many turn out to be like Lord of the Flies, with power coming into play. Some, like in The Maze Runner, actually learn to rely on wisdom and organization. The execution on behalf of the actors in carrying out the tasks assigned to their characters was pretty good. It could almost be believed that they were able to survive on their own.
Lighting came into play a lot. The overall tone of the film was dark. A lot of action happened at night, or in an area with sharp shadows. Along with the, I don't want to say lack, but scarcity of humor, this kept the tense nature forefront. There were daylight scenes, as well. These helped keep hope on the horizon. The use of day and night in the physical sense kept the story rolling. The entire thing happens in under a week. Dawn and dusk and dawn again show just how much can change, show the cycle of hope and despair and the "maybes" and "what-ifs" and endurance.
I would also like to point out, in the spirit of messing with minds, that making monsters resemble arachnids is brilliant. According to Statisticbrain.com, 30.5% of Americans are afraid of spiders. When you combine that with the fact 68% of us fear death, that makes for some impressive mind-play.
The camera was an establishing character. It picked out the kids you needed to pay attention to, which direction you needed to look, and which monster was charging next. It was also a person, dashing about and ducking and doing all sorts of handheld stunts. It was a tree, waving in the breeze, bowing with the boughs. It was an eye, spying on collaborations. Most of all, it wasn't just there to document. It was active.
Hope, responsibility, trust and endurance are main themes in the film. It is relatively easy to pick them out, which isn't bad. As I have mentioned before, this is all a setup for the next movie. Important themes, characters and traits needed to be established here. They were. A clear-cut enemy needed to be established and defeated, or at least moved toward. There has to be a resolution in the end. Now, this gets tricky in "mad scientist" situations like this one. I like it. There is so much more at stake now, heading into the sequel.
When you began this movie, either in the theater or on your computer or wherever, you had a set of questions. "Who is it about?" "What is going to happen?" "When are they put into the maze?" "Where are they, exactly?" "Why are they running?" These are a few general questions that you ask when you sit down, probably without realizing it. When you get up and leave with more questions than at the start, and even more than halfway through, you know the movie has done it's job. Now all you have to do is wait for the next one. If the job was done well, you will have the questions in your head long enough to actually go see the second. If everything was especially brilliant you may even start a fandom. The point is, the questions the filmmakers have planted in your mind have to be answered. This is how you build a series.
