MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE
More marathon than sprint…
Certificate 12A director Wes Ball Screenplay T.S. Nowlin Starring Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rosa Salazar Distributor 20th Century Fox running time 142 mins
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T his is a long way from the Glade,” says teen hero Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) to Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), Brenda (Rosa Salazar) and their ragtag pals while staring at the walled city they must infiltrate in order to rescue buddy Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and bring down the corporation that experimented on them like lab rats. Yes, it is a long way, and unfortunately this YA franchise has become more formulaic with each instalment.
Still, this trilogy-closer (thankfully, James Dashner’s book has not been split in two) is solid enough, opening with a rip-roaring train heist straight out of a western – albeit with an armed chopper hovering above – and climaxing with all-out war. In between, there are run-ins with virus-infected Cranks and a quick dream sequence to plonk us back into the original’s maze with a biomechanical Griever in hot, slobbery pursuit. The dramatic beats and themes of loyalty, sacrifice and blessed versus dispossessed are familiar, but Aidan Gillen, Patricia Clarkson and Barry Pepper return to add gravitas, and are joined, though all-too-briefly, by a pustule-faced, noseless Walton Goggins. Jamie Graham
The VerdIcT
Hardly fresh, but the spectacle is decent and the relationship dynamics absorb the lengthy run time.