Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Year: 2018
Director: Wes Ball
Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rosa Salazar, Will Poulter, Dexter Darden, Aiden Gillen, Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper, Patricia Clarkson, Walton Goggins, Ki Hong Lee


Plot: Thomas and his friends attempt to break into WCKD's fortified stronghold to save Minho and the other kids, with the help of a deformed rebel leader, an unexpected ally and Thomas' former friend, Teresa.


Review: After star Dylan O'Brien was injured in an accident on set, causing a delay in filming, The Death Cure is finally finished, and the wait is well worth it.

Granted, YA adaptations have been a mixed bag in the last few years. Twilight was a success though critically panned, Divergent was a failure, and The Hunger Games was rather overrated in my book. But The Maze Runner series has been quite consistent, despite its flaws. Director Wes Ball has deftly merged action, sci-fi and a touch of horror in all three films, thus creating a very fascinating yet dangerous universe for Thomas and his friends.

The action sequences were well done, beginning with a train sequence, later followed by a tunnel sequence that seems slightly inspired by 28 Days Later. While the final 30 minutes is a long action sequence that feels a bit all over the place at times, it still manages to thrill and properly end the trilogy on a high note. Even the quieter moments of the film work well and never feel extraneous, thus making the 142 minute run time real easy to sit through.

The entire cast execute their roles well, even though the dialogue felt hammy every now and then, but it's surely no fault of theirs. The best of them would have to be Walton Goggins as Lawrence, whose gnarly makeup and low voice make him quite intimidating to watch. It's unfortunate that his appearance was too brief. Aiden Gillen scores as the bad guy here, who gets elevated to main villain status over Patricia Clarkson's Ava, which surprised me a bit. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario and O'Brien all deliver as usual.

Other than the hammy dialogue, I was also a bit disappointed with the limited time given to Harriet, Aris and Sonya, who were introduced in The Scorch Trials, but barely allowed to make an impact here. The again, it's understandable since there are too many characters to focus on.

Overall, I enjoyed The Death Cure very much, which strongly ends the Maze Runner series, and is currently my favorite YA adaptation so far. (7.5/10)