Dystopian sci-fi movies following a tight-knit group of friends have become a box office staple in recent years. In the third installment of “The Maze Runner” series, “The Death Cure,” a group of kids fight against an evil corporation, zombies and a disease that is destroying the human race, all to save their best friend.
Based on the popular young adult book series by James Dashner, the three films follow a boy named Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien. From the beginning, Thomas is seen as altruistic, defiant and willing to do anything for his friends.
The series follows a logical arc, with each film presenting a new set of challenges for the group of teenage boys, who found themselves trapped in a large maze with no recollection of anything but their names.
In the first film, they realize that they are just guinea pigs for an experiment to cure a virus that has almost wiped out the human race. They proceed to fight against the evil corporation, entitled “World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department,” and manage to escape the dehumanizing experiment.
While the second film follows a familiar plot, with the boys discovering that life outside the maze is not much better, the third film has more direction and excitement, ending with a relatively satisfying resolution.
Aerial shots of deserted cities and crowds of diseased civilians create a dramatic scene in the film’s first few minutes, but some aspects of the film seemed a bit ridiculous. At one point, the audience could not help but chuckle as Thomas and the remaining survivors scaled the side of a moving train with the assistance of a hijacked plane, and proceeded to lift one of the train cars into the air in hopes that it contained their captured friend Minho, played by Ki Hong Lee.
Despite the unrealistic nature of this scene and many others that follow, the film does manage to instill excitement and fear in the audience throughout the movie, the goal for any action film.
However, in many instances in the third installment, this much action is detrimental to the quality of the movie. For example, viewers encounter a familiar pattern of the protagonists being surrounded on all sides, seemingly with nowhere to turn, which becomes repetitive.
Somehow, they are always snatched up by their friends who have miraculously hijacked a crane and can lift an entire busload of children into the air with it (yes, this actually happens).
Taking into account that this is a sci-fi film, some of the elements are excusable, while others are just physically impossible. Nevertheless, the film is successful in its character development and overall plot arc.
The series is consistent with the character of Thomas, who always serves as the imperfect but likeable leader of the group. His decisions are questionable yet endearing, as he often risks his life and the lives of others to save just one friend.
More pragmatic characters blame Thomas for not seeing the big picture, but the story relies on his mistakes as a leader and his loyalty to his friends — a common theme for the genre, but satisfying nonetheless.
For casual viewers of the series, it can be difficult to understand the vocabulary of the characters without some sort of “Maze Runner” dictionary. The characters constantly throw around terms like “flare,” “cranks,” “grievers” and “WCKD,” and it takes a bit of adjustment before realizing what all of these words signify.
Dylan O’Brien’s on-set injury in 2016 delayed the release of “The Death Cure” considerably. The third film picks up right where the second left off, which feels confusing considering the lengthy break. A bit of a summary or reintroduction of characters through flashbacks may have been a good use of the film’s first few minutes.
With a run time of two hours and 22 minutes, “The Death Cure” drags on a bit longer than necessary. Perhaps because this is the final installment, the writers tried to be more aware of crafting an honorable ending, a task rarely nailed in multi-part series.
The film’s last 30 minutes or so contains its strongest content. The action comes to a close with flames, death and a vial of medicine, but the creators made a wise choice in not ending it there. The resolution seemed to fill in plot holes accurately while satisfying the need for a final resolve for the surviving characters.
Overall, the series’ third installment was fairly well-crafted with many entertaining twists, albeit a bit too much climactic action. Despite the unintentional tragicomic elements to the film, a positive effort was made to satiate loyal viewers with a strong series ending while serving as a decent standalone film as well.
