New The Maze Runner Movie Received Mixed Reviews From Major Critics
20th Century FOX released their new action/adventure/thriller film, “The Maze Runner,” into theaters yesterday, September 18th and the reviews are in from the top,major movie critics. It turns out that only about half of them liked it with an overall 56 score out of a possible 100 across 28 reviews at the Metacritic.com site.
The film stars: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Will Poulter. We’ve added blurbs from a couple of the critics,below.
Bill Zwecker from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a nice 88 score, saying: “Beyond the visuals, what makes The Maze Runner so compelling is its attention-grabbing storyline.”
Ethan Gilsdorf over at the Boston Globe, gave it a 75 score, stating: “Using a refreshingly gentle FX touch, Ball has successfully transposed the decaying, vine-covered concrete jungle look of his short onto this gorgeously-designed feature. The neophyte knows how to direct heart-pumping chase scenes and has coaxed surprisingly solid performances from his young ensemble cast, especially O’Brien and Poulter.”
Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 75 as well. He stated: “First-time feature director Wes Ball’s version of The Maze Runner makes the cliches smell daisy-fresh.”
Christy Lemire at RogerEbert.com, gave it a 63 grade, saying: “What’s intriguing about The Maze Runner – for a long time, at least – is the way it tells us a story we think we’ve heard countless times before but with a refreshingly different tone and degree of detail.”
Elizabeth Weitzman from the New York Daily News, gave it a 60 score, stating: “No, there’s nothing new here. But sometimes it’s enough to be merely entertained, rather than amazed.”
Justin Lowe over at The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 60 grade. He said: “Aside from some uneven handling of the cast, Ball competently styles the action sequences throughout the film and capitalizes on his VFX expertise with pulse-pounding scenes tracking the Runners through the Maze battling Grievers.”
Ella Taylor at Variety, gave it a 60 grade as well. She stated: “As world-creation YA pictures go, The Maze Runner feels refreshingly low-tech and properly story-driven.”
Sara Stewart from the New York Post, gave it a 50 score, saying: “The Maze Runner isn’t based on a video game, but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. In it, our hero must lead his comrades through a dingy gray concrete maze while dodging cyborg monsters, and it all looks like every gaming trailer you’ve ever seen.”
Sheri Linden from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 50 grade. She said: “Ball tends to slice and dice action sequences in a way that drains them of energy, and his attempts to churn up emotion fall disconcertingly flat. But he does stage a couple of effective adrenaline-pumping chases through the maze’s industrial wasteland.”
Ben Kenigsberg over at The New York Times, gave it a 50 grade, stating: “A perfectly serviceable entry in the young-adult dystopian sweepstakes.”
Finally, Claudia Puig over at USA Today, gave it a 50 grade, saying: “Maze Runner feels only partially formed.” Stay tuned. Also, get your favorite Movie stuff, and more by Clicking Here.
