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Review: 'The Maze Runner' feels refreshingly low-tech

 
In "The Maze Runner," Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), Teresa (Kaya Scoderlario), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Frypan (Dexter Darden) and Winston (Alex Flores) react to a shocking development in the Glade. Photo by Twentieth Century Fox

In "The Maze Runner," Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), Teresa (Kaya Scoderlario), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Frypan (Dexter Darden) and Winston (Alex Flores) react to a shocking development in the Glade. Photo by Twentieth Century Fox
Published Sept. 19, 2014

When I was a kid we called The Maze Runner idea "playing fort," and Rodney Weaver down the street made the rules. There weren't many since imagination always made the calls. Our heroics bounced off woods instead of this fantasy's walls, inspired by plucky B-movies just like it.

The Maze Runner is based on a popular YA novel but don't hold that against it. This is a confidently low-tech production, unlike the Hunger Games saga and its divergent imitators. No time for mushy stuff; no girls allowed until Act 3. The design is muted, the special effects comparably restrained, yet they distract from the genuine flesh and blood tension developing.

Novelist James Dashner essentially braided the Lord of the Flies routine — marooned boys surviving their surroundings and each other — with the cryptic nature of Lost. There's a dystopian society involved, as with so many YA yarns, but details are saved for the next movie. All that matters is the mysterious now for two dozen trapped boys, playing an elaborate game of fort.

The latest to arrive is Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), same as the others, on an elevator with supplies, without any memory of life before. He is deposited in the Glade, sitting like Central Park in the center of a maze of towering walls. Leading this subsistence farming society is Alby (Aml Ameen), keeping Thomas both informed and curious.

At sundown the massive gates close, protecting the Glade from Grievers, the robotic scorpions guarding the maze. In daylight hours, runners traverse the maze, trying to memorize a pattern for an escape route. Nobody survives overnight in the maze, leading to crushing close calls.

That's about it, or as much spoiling as this lean plot allows. More interesting are the dynamics of the Glade, a diverse and harmonious collective slowly unraveling after Thomas arrives. The acting is very good down the line, led by O'Brien displaying star promise, and Will Poulter's perpetually concerned eyebrows doubting Thomas.

Director Wes Ball makes a solid feature film debut, without any noticeable video game envy to his action sequences. The maze is an understated CGI wonder, shifting and collapsing, while the Grievers are cyborg'd just enough to be a talented geek's doodle, and neither are overused. There's a DIY feel to The Maze Runner that's mildly refreshing; you can imagine kids trying this at home.

Just like the old days, the fun winds down when a girl (Kaya Scodelario) shows up and Mom calls, in this case Patricia Clarkson setting up a sequel that feels like it's detouring somewhere like Panem or wherever Shailene Woodley's going rogue. Too bad if it does. The Maze Runner wears different well.

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Contact Steve Persall at spersall@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8365. Follow @StevePersall.