Maze Runner: The Death Cure shows the franchise has run out of ways to stay interesting [Review]

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The cast gamely tries to keep things interesting, but are let down by a mediocre plot and uninteresting dialogue

Joshua Lee |
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From left: Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dylan O'Brien and Ki Hong Lee in a still from Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure is the third film in the Maze Runner series and is a passable although unimpressive conclusion to the franchise.

The science-fiction film is set in a dystopian world plagued by the flare, a virus that turns ordinary humans into ravenous zombies. WCKD, the organisation tasked with finding a cure to the virus, is prepared to use any means possible to get it. This includes capturing children who are immune to the virus and conducting sinister human trials on them.

After escaping the maze and battling through the desert, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his companions must try to save fellow glader Minho (Lee Ki-hong) and dozens of other children who have been captured by WCKD. The ultimate goal is to reach a safe haven on an island far away from WCKD. To do this Thomas must break into The Last City, WCKD’s heavily fortified headquarters, and get everyone out alive.

If you haven’t seen any of the previous Maze Runner films, you will be confused. Despite the first film being released nearly four years ago, there is no recap of the previous events in the series. The only way you’ll get to catch up are the bits of expositional dialogue scattered throughout the film.

The acting and visuals are decent if not very impressive. A scene where Minho is chased by giant robot spiders is visually interesting and put together well. But these moments of excitement are few and far between, and what really lets this film down is the writing and plot.

Simply put, there is a lot of poorly written dialogue that is distracting and unnatural. There are also far too many jump scares that begin to lose their effect. The tension, drama and violence continue relentlessly, which becomes tiring towards the end of what felt like a very long movie. It also must be said that WCKD soldiers are on par with Star Wars Storm Troopers for having some of the worst aim in cinematic history.

The plot gradually becomes too complex and difficult to follow over the course of the film. Since we don’t get any introduction to the main characters, there is a lack of true character development and it’s hard sympathise with them or the challenges they must overcome.

The Death Cure is not worth watching if you’re not already a fan of the franchise, but it will be a tension-packed finale for the die-hards still out there.

Edited by Jamie Lam

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