Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

This movie is the most epic and fitting conclusion to a dystopian future story. Every part of the book that sucked was out, including the forced and unnecessary romance, which was replaced by the bromance. This movie is all about the characters that you're already emotionally invested in. You can't expect to be mesmerized by it if you haven't seen the previous ones. It's like complaining there is no character introduction in Avengers Infinity War. Thomas goes to WCKD for Minho and Newt chooses to stick with his friends until the very end and go down fighting instead of isolating himself from humanity. The characters are what create the pain, the hope, the heartbreak and the chemistry among the cast members is evident in the chemistry among the characters, which intensifies the pain the loss and the heartbreak. Especially the heartbreak. If you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about.Next, the "bad guys". I love how this franchise justifies the actions of WCKD and I love their portrayal as scientists dedicated to finding a cure, not as the ultimate psychopaths, except of course Littlefing-ehh I meant Janson. Ava Paige and Teresa are in fact grey zone characters who think they're the heroes in their own stories. That adds to the desparation and regret Thomas feels when he asks whether he could have saved his best friend. Even Janson the Douche at some point says that Thomas was born being the cure, he didn't fight for it and probably doesn't deserve it- which is not true, but undeniably justifiable. That's what I call realistic characters. Not everything is black and white, people. Finally, the plot and the action scenes, which are both exceptional. The action scenes aren't random, they're fast-paced and an integral part of the storyline. Combined with the amazing music, they keep you at the edge of your seat every second. The plot, in my not-so-humble opinion was better that the book's. Fast-paced as well, did the characters justice, made sense and led to this epic conclusion we've all been waiting for. There's nothing better that a final movie that does the franchise justice, and Maze Runner: The Death Cure manages to do just that. It broke my heart, it made me sob uncontrollably, it made me feel the loss, the danger, and the pain. And that's how I can tell it succeded.

First, I will state that this movie is almost nothing like the book. However, if you can look past that (after all, which movies these days are not vastly different from their literary inspirations?) this was a really good movie.The action scenes were packed and interesting to watch, and the slower scenes did a good job of keeping the movie grounded and developing the characters. Some of the actions scenes did strain credulity, but we don't watch a movie or read a book to experience reality. We watch a movie to escape reality, and that is what this movie does. It gives you an escape from real life, while still holding enough reality to make the characters and their actions relatable.There were definitely some plot holes and questions that really should have been answered, that needed to be answered. For example, why did the immunes have to be put through such horrific "trials" in order for a cure to be found? Why did Thomas not realize that his blood could save Newt as it had done with Brenda, or that it could at least give Newt a little bit more time? But as with all movies, you can't answer every question unless you want a movie that is four hours long. It also isn't realistic to get all of the answers sometimes. How often are we left questioning things in our own lives? Sometimes things happen without us knowing the reasons why.I also feel like the actors did a really good job at portraying their characters in a realistic way. Dylan O'Brien makes Thomas so real, and you truly feel that he wants nothing more in life than to save his friends and keep them safe. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Newt, is the reliable right-hand man who follows Thomas' lead but questions him at times to bring him back to earth. And Will Poulter gives a great performance and makes Gally feel like he is still essentially the same character from the first movie, a good guy who did bad things because he was scared for his friends, and now he wants to make amends for what he's done.Some people will hate this movie because it doesn't wrap everything up in a nice little bow, or because it does not follow the book religiously. But keeping in mind that this is a movie trilogy based on a book series intended to be read by TEENAGERS, I think that this movie delivered exactly what it promised. A movie about teenagers meant for teenagers, who don't always do things the same way that adults would, nor do they look at circumstances, reasons, or questions in the same way either. It gives a unique perspective of an imaginary situation and guesses what a group of teenagers would do if faced with those circumstances, and I think that they did a pretty good job of delivering an answer.Overall, this was a really good movie when you look at it as being there purely for entertainment. And isn't that all that a movie is meant to be anyway?

I will say exactly what i said about the second film - it is an action packed PG-13 sci-fi action movie for teenagers, it is not to be critically dismembered like an amazing psychological drama, it is pure action for kids to enjoy. Is it a bad movie? No, you just have to watch it with the right mindset. Do not expect clever plot twists, intelligent dialogue or original and witty scenes Expect hollywood action movie cliche after cliche and just sit back, relax and enjoy the shooting, running, chasing and stuff getting blown up non-stop for more than 2 hours. This movie never stops when it comes to action, it starts with loads of it and never eases the tension, there's always something bigger happening, a remarkable achievement on that front. This movie has done an absolutely excellent job entertaining the target audience, more serious movie critics simply need to come down from their high horses and realize this movie is not to be taken seriously. Know what you are watching before you are watching it, since this is already part 3 of the franchise everyone should know fairly well what they are heading into. Have an open mind, relax and enjoy!

I have a lot of respect for Wes Ball. Almost no other directors have stayed with a film series based on a young adult novel series the whole way through (Gary Ross left after the first 'Hunger Games', Neil Burger left after the first 'Divergent', etc.), and Ball certainly has a knack for directing sweeping action sequences. The problem for me is the overall script, but I'll get to that later. Dylan O'Brien overcame a life-threatening injury while working on this film, which shows his true commitment as an actor, and I have to say, he still gives the best performance and has the best character in this franchise. In fact, most of the cast does a great job with the material they're given, and they sell it the best that they can. Back to the script, though. About an hour and a half into the movie, it felt as if the inevitable conclusion was near. I was actually enjoying myself, despite the relatively repetitive nature of the story, and if it had ended where I though it would end, I may actually have given the movie a fresh review. However, the film then proceeds to go on for another hour, which wouldn't be as much of a problem if that damn repetitive nature of the script hadn't continued. I knew where every plot point was going, making the last half particularly boring for me. Although I do prefer this than to split the last film into two parts (that's a shot at you, other young adult franchises), I just can't help feeling like a good 20-30 minutes could have been trimmed off the second half of the film. If you are a fan of the franchise, this is pretty much in line with the previous two films. However, for the rest of us, I just found the runtime on this film to be much too long to warrant a positive review.