I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner a few years ago and this past weekend I was finally able to see the words I had read jump off the page into a live motion picture. Thomas wakes up in an elevator with his mind erased of any previous memories, except for his name. The moment the elevator doors open, his whole world is turned upside down. He is welcomed by dozens of other boys in a place called the Glade. Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, takes a while to adjust and let the whole situation set in, but his curiosity gets the best of him when he is told not to go past the walls of the Glade and into the Maze.

The Maze is exactly what is named: a maze. It’s a maze with walls hundreds of feet up high, sections that move into different forms each night, and murderous creatures called Grievers. For years the Runners have been mapping the Maze and trying to decipher a way to escape their prison, but they’ve never been able to find anything significant, let alone survive a night in the Maze. Thomas was the first to not alone be able to spend a night in the Maze, but also the first to kill a Griever. His dedication and curiosity led him and the other Gladers to freedom and closer to learning more and more about themselves, what happened to them, and to the outside world. Thomas did everything and anything he could for the friends that had become like brothers to him in the short while they had known each other, “All the same, Thomas now had a plan. As bad as it was, he had a plan. They needed more clues about the code. They needed MEMORIES. So he was going to get stung by a Griever. Go through the Changing. On purpose” (Dashner 138). Thomas was the first Glader who had the determination to push for the best out of everyone, even though he made some of his own sacrifices during the process, and went through many obstacles; he made the motion that would change everyone’s lives.

There were several aspects of the book and the movie that had completely blown my mind, from graphics to role characterization.  Dashner’s ability to create an entire world run by dozens of boys who work to live within four walls, to me, is incredible. The ability of the producers of the film to display the image Dashner created in his mind onto a screen with such realistic graphics is amazing too. I was also very impressed with the detail of the Grievers and how realistic they could make a mythical creature look too. I think what really amazed me most of all though is that the Glade, the Maze, and the Grievers in the movie were exactly how I pictured them in my head while reading the book.
Of course every work of art has some criticism, but personally I have very few critics about the movie in comparison of the book. However, the casting of a few of the characters were a bit incorrect according to the book. Newt was described as a young African American boy with blond dreadlocks, while in the movie he was featured as a young freckled British boy with reddish brown hair. Alby was also displayed as kind and supportive of Thomas, when in the book he was not really one of the nicest people towards the newbee. Another minor critic is the role of Theresa. Although she is a major character and extremely important to the plot of the story, she rarely had any significance in the movie, let alone very many lines. She seemed to be quite irrelevant.

However, despite these small criticisms on the detail of the movie, the story itself is attention capturing, very entertaining, and beautifully assembled.  I recommend taking time for both the movie and the book because they are both amazing pieces of work. The movie is incredibly impressive and fairly accurate to the book, unlike many movies based on books, and I predict many people will be (if they haven’t already) rushing to theaters to see it. The book is also incredible and just the first part to an amazing trilogy. It won an award called the YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers in 2011, and it’s overall just a really great story that James Dashner did a fantastic job coming up with and styling with his playful words and language.