The Maze Runner: All the reasons we are and are not excited for the new franchise

The Maze Runner movie, based on the book by James Dashner, is another tale about a less-than-pleasant futuristic world featuring teen characters. While we loved the YA book, we may be on overload when it comes to post-apocalyptic movies.
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In The Maze Runner, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is deposited into a place called “The Glade” with no memories of his previous 16 years of life. Dozens of other teen boys also reside there and call themselves Gladers.

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The Glade is surrounded by a huge concrete maze infested with nasty, giant slug-like creatures called Grievers. Not long after Thomas arrives, a teen girl named Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) appears with a note saying she is the “last one ever.” Though she quickly falls into a coma-like state of unconsciousness, Thomas soon discovers he has a telepathic connection to Teresa.

One of the things we’re looking forward to in the Maze Runner movie is the depiction of an all-male society that is very different from the Hunger Games or Divergent films, which feature battles between males and females. A story about a group of teen boys struggling to survive invokes stories like Lord of the Flies by William Golding or the Lost Boys from J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Without any women or girls around, men and even boys can be brutal to each other.

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We’re also excited to see the “Runners,” teen boys attempting to make their way out of the maze, navigate through this labyrinth of doom and dodge the squishy Grievers. There could potentially be some awesome, thrilling action sequences.

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One thing we’re not too sure about is enduring yet another film with a dark tone, visually and thematically. The news is depressing enough. The actors in this trailer appear gaunt, sad and underfed. We understand that desperate situations create heroes out of unlikely people, but we’re about to spend our hard-earned dough on the fourth film installment of The Hunger Games, as Mockingjay Part 1 comes out this November. If we do decide to plop down $12 to see The Maze Runner, it better be worth it!

The Maze Runner opens Sept. 19.