Fans of the Maze Runner series were forced to wait quite some time for the conclusion to the series due to an unfortunate accident during filming, but will find The Death Cure to be a rewarding end to the journey. The Death Cure has plenty of action, drama, and tears that will take audiences on a roller coaster for the final showdown with Wicked.
This is all aided by an excellent soundtrack by John Paesano who we may also know now due to Daredevil and The Defenders on Netflix.
Like most dystopian series movies, the last arc is when the heroes go into the belly of the beast and all hell breaks loose. It brought back many memories of Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 for me, although the heroes and villains don’t seem to be as collected in the Maze Runner as they were in earlier movies and this movie is pure chaos from a storytelling perspective. It would be better not to try to think too hard or obvious plot holes exist.
Despite the lack of a completely fluid world, the characters in this film do develop and I found myself more attached to them as the series came to an end and their stories concluded, which is a credit to the acting in this film. Mutual suffering creating brotherhood and solidarity is present throughout this film as a powerful theme and I found myself moved by that.
My only complaint is that we didn’t get more dialogue of Ki Hong Lee as Minho in this film. That’s partly due to the plot. On the other hand, Kaya Scodelario really delivered as Teresa and for the first time I connected with her acting compared to the prior two movies.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt actually took up a large part of the film and I think this was an ode back to the book.
Dylan O’Brien seemed different in this film compared to others in playing Thomas and as a darker film with more on the line than ever, he delivered quite well. The obvious aging due to the delay of the release of the film may have also helped give him a more mature and serious look that aided his performance.
The cinematography is beautiful and feels like a cross between The Hunger Games and a stripped down Blade Runner: 2049. A truly dark, sci-fi kind of world.
Overall, The Death Cure is a well-deserved conclusion to the series for fans. It has just enough to let a casual audience ride it through, but is more fulfilling to audiences already attached to the characters who can understand the struggles they have survived. It is worth a visit to the theater.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
