Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before: In a
rigidly structured dystopian future, one plucky teenager dares to think for
himself, shake up the status quo and start a revolution–or, at least the
beginning of a trilogy.
Such is the stuff of “The Maze Runner,” which hews pretty
closely to the YA-novel formula that’s reliably produced so many hugely
successful film adaptations in recent years. And, indeed, director Wes Ball’s
film is based on the best seller by James Dashner. It features a similar structure, hits some recognizable beats and includes some
character types that will seem pretty familiar to anyone who’s seen the “Hunger