The Maze Runner (2009) is a popular book written by James Dashner made into a 2014 movie directed by Wes Ball. I read the book in middle school and discovered my love for it. This made me excited and curious how the movie would compare to the book. I questioned how the movie writers and directors would turn the elaborate and complex story of the Maze Runner book into a movie without losing any of the value—but they showed they could.

Action movies are made to give the reader an adrenaline rush. The constant conflicts between characters and wondering what is going to happen next leave the viewer predicting, and often being surprised. However, when combined with mystery and suspense, it can make a good movie.

The movie began following the same plot as the book: a strong opening scene showing a scared boy with no idea where he was. He didn’t know anything about himself, where he came from, and where he was going—he only remembered his name: Thomas. Through his arrival to his new permanent home, the movie showed detailed graphics and almost impossible but lifelike structures of the maze.

With the dynamic start of the movie, I thought there was no way that the film would keep the viewer’s attention. After all, what was there to do in a giant maze? But the movie never had a dry moment. The film had constant action and left plenty of whitespace for the viewer to assume what would happen next. 

The actors in the movie made me believe that the characters were real. The emotions and conflicts were so pure, almost as if this movie was recorded from a real-life experience. The graphics of the maze and the greenery inside it reinforced the picture painted in my mind by the book. The structures were unreal and so detailed that it felt like it actually existed.

The end of the movie encompassed the thrill of the entire film. Nobody could have expected the bombshell of a cliffhanger the movie left the viewer with. This movie left me satisfied, something I would recommend to others interested. It embraced all of the most important traits of an action movie: spectacular adventure, unreal visual and special effects, and the desire of the viewer for more.