Can The Maze Runner find its way? That’s the question next Friday when Hollywood churns out another in its pipeline of films based on futuristic young-adult novels, of which the Hunger Games remains the unseated king. But for every Divergent-level success there is a flop like The Giver. So which path will The Maze Runner take?
The September release date doesn’t exactly spell confidence from the studio (in this case Fox), though it could be that execs simply wanted to move away from Divergent’s wake and split the difference between the comic book blockbusters of the summer and the awards contenders of the fall. Maze could prove that the genre has real legs in a post-Twilight landscape, or it could be the film that bursts the bubble. One unique trait it holds is the lack of a female lead. There is no Katniss, Tris or Bella. Will young women flock to see the film’s male star?
Shot largely in and around Baton Rouge last fall—and the film producers enjoyed it so much they brough Fantastic Four soon after—the film is a breakout for Dylan O’Brien, the young, likeable co-star of MTV’s Teen Wolf. In an otherwise schlocky, over-the-top show, O’Brien’s relatable performance and grounded acting really shines through. The story picks up as he’s suffering amnesia and dropped in a dangerous maze-like structure filled with other rough-and-tumble young men. Who or what is controlling their environment is a mystery, but the other inhabitants seem convinced that O’Brien’s arrival could signal clues to how they can escape.
