“THE Maze Runner” is a showdown of cute new boys cast wise but the story needs the book to fully appreciate it. After two months being cooped in our bedroom, unti-unti na lang kaming lumalakas kahit paano that we decided that the first thing we will do alone is watch a movie.
Actually dapat sa favorite Makati haunt kami pupunta pero tama ang mga kamag-anak namin, baby steps muna, so we decided to watch sa SM Molino, isang sakay lang sa amin.
Dahil apat lang ang cinema sa SM Molino and with several movies opening last Wednesday and other movies extending to a second week, hati ang schedule per sine.
Panghapon-hanggang gabi ang screening ng “The Maze Runner” sa cinema 2 so we bought the 6 p.m. ticket. Another surprise, marami-rami kami sa sinehan, hindi half full but the fact that is SM Molino, it follows may followers talaga ang book dahil mostly teens ang kasabayan namin.
Just like “The Hunger Games”, post apocalyptic and “The Maze Runner” as it introduces the “greenie” (pinakabagong salta) na si Thomas (Dylan O’Brien of TV’s Teen Wolf) to the group of gladers, ang tawag nila sa lugar.
Wala siyang matandaan kung bakit nandoon siya o kung sino siya, tulad ng ibang kabataan na nandoon. Some of the regulars, tanggap na nila ang buhay nila doon but not the likes of Thomas who needs to know where he is and what is keeping them imprisoned in a place na nasa gitna ng isang maze kung saan nagbubukas-sara ang isang portion.
A lot have attempted to leave the gladers but no one succeeds especially kapag nagsara na ito for the night. Thomas will try but he doesn’t know, may ‘misyon’ pala talaga siya kung bakit siya napunta doon.
Pagkatapos ng “Harry Potter”, “Twilight” at “Hunger Games” series, there was an explosion of young adult books turned into movies hoping they will have the next Daniel Radcliff or Robert Pattinson and even a Jennifer Lawrence to assure the continuation of their franchise.
Sadly, not every series made it and one special mention was “The Vampire Academy” that did not make it: sayang at napakaganda pa naman ng story nito kahit nauna naming napanood ang movie kaysa mabasa ang libro and with good cast din.
Good thing the library’s latest offering “The Maze Runner” made it on top of the box-office last weekend with over 32 million dollar weekend box office take, out-grossing actions stars Liam Neeson and Denzel Washington.
With such a success, kahit malaki na ang magiging reduction nito next week, assured na ang dalawa pang sequels “The Scorch Trials” and “The Death Cure” and one prequel “The Kill Order” of the book na magkakaroon ng go sign sa production in the years to come.
Technically, easy to understand ang “The Maze Runner” with or without reading the book but only if you are familiar sa ganitong storylines. Sabi ng gladers, ilang araw bago maalala ng greenie ang pangalan nila at wala itong maaalala pero si Thomas, first night pa lang nabanggit na niya ang pangalan niya and that he has dreams.
Sa dami rin ng nabasa naming libro, alam na namin kung sino ang magiging kontrabida, kung sino ang mamamatay at kung sino ang aabot sa sequel, natatawa nga kami na parang nanalo sa bingo na blackout; those we thought will die died and those we thought we will see the next installment survived.
Subconsciously, without even seeing the movie’s trailer, we half expected a girl to join the all-boys dahil hindi naman ito magkakaroon ng sequel kung hindi magkakaroon ng romantic slant and thirty minutes before it ended, “the last to enter the glade” is a girl, si Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) na napakalaki ang pagkakahawig kay Kristen Stewart, si Bella of “Twilight”.
Good storytelling, above average production design and special effects, magpipiyesta naman ang mga teenage girls and beki sa cuteness galore ng mga supporting cast and we’re sure makikilala na rin nila one way or the other.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster is Newt, si Jojen sa third and fourth season ng Game of Thrones. Will Poulter is Gally, ang isa sa young English guy sa “Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. Even the new Asian guy Ki Hong Lee as Minho is cute, so panalo ang casting.
Actually, ang may problema sa movie ang director na si Wes Ball. Dahil sa TV siya nahasa (he directed the TV series Star Trek, HBO’s First Look, among others), hindi siya marunong mag-end ng movie na hindi nagsususumigaw na part two ito, but we will let go of that dahil in the first place, those who followed this in the books knows na talagang may part two and three ito.