September 24, 2014 -- This another in the endless stream of young adult book adaptations that have landed in movie theaters since the Harry Potter series made all that money. This one is better than most, but it only works as long as the maze remains a mystery. At the end of the film, when the explanations arrive, the plot falls apart because it all turns to nonsense. The film is fine, however, right up until those nutty explanations arrive. Maybe the sequel (already announced) will be better.

To a certain extent, some of the other recent films of this ilk, the “Twilight” films, the “Hunger Games” films, and “Divergent” all share this same problem with “The Maze Runner,” that is, all these films have significant plot elements that haven't really been thought through very well, so they aren't believable. The problem is a combination of sloppy writing, sloppy thinking and sometimes shallow, two-dimensional characters. The “Harry Potter” series worked better, in part, because it was well-written to start with, and the author made sure the movies didn't screw up the plots.

One of the things “The Maze Runner” has going for it is good acting, and an intriguing plot, up until the end of the film, at least. A teenage boy, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien of “The Internship”) wakes up in a caged elevator which opens up in a large clearing surrounded by a gigantic maze. He remembers almost nothing of his former life. The doors of the maze open and close at regular intervals every day. At night, the maze reconfigures itself.

Thomas tries to fit into the tiny society that lives in the clearing. A small group of boys (no girls) have built huts, a primitive jail and other structures. They have developed rules, forbidding all but the “maze runners” from entering the maze. The maze runners try to map the structure and find a way out. Some of the boys seem to lack even the most basic curiosity about the nature of the maze and why they are in this unusual situation. Thomas is curious and keeps trying to find a way out.

An instant enmity develops between Thomas and a large, powerful boy, Gally (Will Poulter of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”). Gally is very conservative. He is afraid of any change to the status quo and the way things have been in the past three years he has lived in this place. He sees Thomas as dangerous because he is unusually curious and is determined to get out. Gally doesn't want to get out. He is content to keep things as they are.

The leader of this little society is Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster of “The Last Legion”) an intelligent boy who, unlike Gally, is willing to think outside the box. He is willing to take a chance to get out of the prison the boys find themselves in, if a way out can be found. When Thomas and Minho (Ki Hong Lee) manage to do what nobody else ever has, survive a night in the maze and rescue another boy from the monsters inside it, Newt begins to think that Thomas might be a game changer.

The society of boys that develops is a bit like “The Lord of the Flies,” but not quite as dark, except for Gally, who is definitely starting to turn into an uncivilized, superstitious savage. The ending of the film is left wide open for a sequel. It's one of those “it isn't the end, it's the beginning” kinds of endings. That is the film's weakest link. Its strengths are the performances and its compelling characters, primarily Thomas, Gally and Minho. The maze is impressive, while the society of these trapped boys is less so.

This film is better than most of this particular genre. Of the ones I've seen I think I still like “Divergent” best, along with the second “Hunger Games” film that made more sense than the first one did. This one is good enough that I'm interested in seeing the sequel. That's more than I can say for most of these kinds of films. This film rates a C+.

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