Some writers are said to have the gift of foresight. James Dashner, author of the best-selling novel The Maze Runner, predicted the events we are witnessing today more than a decade ago. Who would have thought that there would come a time when the almighty Virus would cause a pandemic and sow fear, chaos and destruction of the usual rhythm of life all over the world!
This trilogy glorified the American director Wes Ball, who was previously known mainly for short films. Despite mixed reviews from critics and viewers, Ball managed to create a saga that keeps attention from beginning to end by whipping up tension.
The meaning of the film The Maze Runner
In 2014, following the fading fashion for teenage dystopias, a film adaptation appeared, in which a team of teenagers united by the thirst for survival confronts the powerful system of the planet that survived the Apocalypse. In short, the meaning of the film “The Maze Runner” is in the self-sacrifice of man. So the main character decides to surrender in order to save other people.
The Maze Runner
The scene of the film is similar to our gloomy world, full of misunderstanding, hostility and evil. This is the Glade – a space enclosed by many meters of dirty gray concrete walls and surrounded on all sides by the Labyrinth.
Several dozen teenagers who do not remember anything but their name try to get out of the Labyrinth, but every time they fail. This monstrous weave often changes its design, moreover, if you don’t return from its dead ends inside the square before sunset, you can fall into the clutches of biomechanoids – bloodthirsty monsters that hunt at night.
Every day, the elevator lifts up to the Glade, one teenager at a time. One day, Thomas, the protagonist of the trilogy, ended up here. Often, half-consciously, he hears a voice: “P.O.R.O.K. – this is good”. So the viewer learns about a powerful system with which a handful of daredevils will have to fight.
In the novel, the institution set up to fight the epidemic is the Department, which conducts experiments to study the Killing Zone. In the script of the film, the sinister organization was called briefly: WCKD. It is she who is busy searching for a vaccine against the Virus and manipulates teenagers.
After a devastating solar flare, disease came to planet Earth. Super-contagious, it has become a pandemic and infects people, turning them into unpredictable zombies. Scientists have found that the antidote is only in the blood of teenagers. With the help of Immunes (teenagers who are not subject to the Virus), a vaccine can be found.
The Maze Runner: Trial by Fire
Only young fresh blood can resist the Virus (Universal Evil that is spreading across the Earth). Freed from the Labyrinth, a group of teenagers expected to meet freedom, but in fact they were captured by the WCKD. The vaccine has been created, it needs to be tested – what do a few dozen young lives mean for scientists for the benefit of mankind?
And run away again. This time – a burning lifeless desert with cities almost wiped off the face of the earth and crippled by infected monsters. One salvation is the secret organization “Right Hand”, which is fighting the system, but they too fell victim to the confrontation.
Escape from zombies and go deep into the desert? Surrender to the mercy of P.O.R.O.K. and sacrifice yourself? Thomas and his friends choose their own path: wrestling.
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure
To begin with, let’s summarize the first two parts of the trilogy. In the first film, teenagers still do not know about the pandemic, or the Virus, or the vaccine, because they are locked in the Labyrinth and do not have any information. In the second film, the veil falls from the eyes. The guys know about the WCKD manipulations, about the great misfortune that has befallen the Earth, about the medicine that cannot be obtained artificially.
Virus Resistant Immunes that need to be isolated to create a new society is the solution to the problem that WCKD embodies. And the “key”, the missing link in the chain, is Thomas. Well, what about others, the same friends, “bitten” by zombies and waiting for help? Should I sacrifice them or continue to fight? He is repeatedly attracted to cooperation by Teresa, who is sure that only this guy can help create a full-fledged medicine.
And the main character makes a decision: to surrender to P.O.R.O.K.u. This is a timid hope that the teenager will stay alive and save the people dear to him. After all, it is unlikely that a cure will be developed: those who know how to get it are no longer alive.
Without an epilogue, but with hope
Director Wes Ball decided to give a different ending to the film trilogy – unlike the novel. In the book, Thomas’ friend Newt leaves a note asking him to kill him – so as not to harm others, finally turning into a zombie.
In the film, Newt strives to remain a man to the end, and, as it were, bequeaths to his friends not to lose hope for better prospects. The director remains true to the classics of the genre, which gives the end of the film bright colors.
There is another difference from the novel: there is no epilogue in the film. The director invites the viewer to think for himself how this story ends. And at the same time think about such human categories as friendship and loyalty, the fragility of our world, the eternal struggle between good and evil.
Write in the comments your assumptions and theories about what and what is the meaning of the film “The Maze Runner”. We look forward to waiting!
