Maze Runner: The Death Cure is a satisfying end to the trilogy

After being delayed a year due to Dylan O’Brien’s on-set accident, the Maze Runner trilogy has finally come to an end. There were some bumps along the way, but the very end of the film brought everything full circle.

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In 2012, The Hunger Games was released and a run on dystopian YA fiction began. The two major series’ to join the fold were the Shailene Woodley lead Divergent series and The Maze Runner. While The Hunger Games had a stronger second entry than its first, the other two went in the opposite direction.

The second Maze Runner film was not a critical success, but it still managed over $300 million dollars at the box office, so the third film was greenlit. Since the second film was released in 2015, we’ve seen The Hunger Games come to an end and the Divergent series lose its lead. The final Maze Runner film will mark the end of an era so we hoped for a strong finish.

According to the critics, this film failed in that mission, but according to the fans it was a success. While there are plenty of things to hate about the film, there are enough great moments to save it.

Below, we’ll break down both the strengths and the flaws of Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

Strengths

The Action

The fact that the lead actor was injured on the third day of shooting was a hint as to how much action was going to be in this film. Director Wes Ball seemed to want to fit every type of action sequence possible into the two-hour run time. There is a bus chase, a train heist, break-ins, fights with zombies, fights with humans, death-defying leaps, you name it it’s probably in this film. If you are a fan of action you will not be disappointed.

The Ending

As it stands, Maze Runner: The Death Cure has the highest audience rating in the series at 76 percent. While the other two YA series got progressively worse ratings from critics, this one was able to go out on a high note. What made this series different from the rest was the group dynamic. Every loss hurts everyone and every victory is enjoyed by all. In their quest to stop WCKD, our group lost many along the way. By the end of the third film, Thomas is dealing with a case of survivor’s guilt until something comes along to help him heal. It was an unexpected touch that saved the film from what could have been fatal flaws. The Death Cure is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the very end was incredibly satisfying and very emotional.

Flaws

Duration 

The second major gripe in this film is the duration. The run time is 2 hours and 22 minutes which makes it 30 minutes longer than the first movie. While the film has very good pacing through the first two acts, the third is severely dragged out. There are 20-30 minutes of the film that served no purpose besides tying up loose ends. Besides adding to the duration of the film, I can guarantee that hardly any viewer enjoyed this deviation from the flow of events. Amazingly, this deviation also takes place after one of the most emotional moments in the series and almost makes you forget it happened. If the ending had not been so perfect, this film would not be getting positive reviews from the fans.

Teresa 

In the second film, Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) turns on the group which results in the death of Mary (Lili Taylor) and the capture of Minho. For most this was enough to make her the enemy but for some reason this was not the case for Thomas. One of the biggest flaws for fans of the series was the way the Teresa story line was finalized. Thomas’ actions with regard to Teresa caused audible disappointment among fans in the theater. Perhaps going another way was thought to be too cliché, but in this case it would have been preferred.

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Overall

Maze Runner: Death Cure did most of what it was supposed to do. There were amazing action sequences, great acting, touching moments, and a satisfying conclusion. While there is a 20 minute period that does not truly add to the film, the other 2 hours make up for it enough to make it an enjoyable watch. Fans of the series will be satisfied and in the end we really couldn’t ask for more than that.

Maze Runner: Death Cure is in theaters now. It opened at the top of this weekend’s box office, bringing in $23.5 million dollars.