At bottom, The Maze Runner may be about nothing more than generational resentment, just a bunch of kids tired of old people telling them what to do. The future dystopia, the virus, the totalitarian quasi-government, the war between various factions - it's all just a lot of stuff that happens.
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Here's a series that's borrowed liberally from Lord of the Flies, The Road Warrior, and any number of fast-moving zombie pictures, but discarded their themes like yesterday's lunch. "Why was such a literally labyrinthine plan necessary to discover an antidote?"- but "why" in the more existential sense. Yet even after 142 minutes of The Death Cure, an active and expensive-looking finale, The Maze Runner never solved for the "why." And not "why" in terms of plot holes - e.g. (The series, based on James Dashner's novels, is nothing if not in love with its invented terminology.) The stakes are high enough to sustain the franchise through three films of increasing length, and the direction, by Wes Ball, is well above average for YA sci-fi/action vehicles of their kind. There's plenty more plot where that came from, including key locations like "The Glade" (the walled-in compound from the first film) and "The Scorch" (the sunburnt apocalypse of the second film), monsters like the mechanized "grievers," and a band of anti-WCKD guerrilla fighters called "The Right Arm" that promises a "Safe Haven" on which to rebuild civilization. And not without cause: These beautiful blandlings are immune to a global pandemic called "The Flare," which is threatening to turn the bulk of humanity into grotesque, snarling, zombie-like features called "Cranks." Operating under the not-at-all sinister-sounding acronym WCKD, a government agency, led by a couple of oldsters, wants to harvest our heroes for an antidote to the virus and develops absurdly elaborate containment systems to keep them in line. The maze-running part of The Maze Runner trilogy wrapped up about two-thirds of the way into the first film, leaving it to exist only as a metaphor for fresh-faced young people getting treated like laboratory rats. L to R: Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Cranks leader Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito), Frypan (Dexter Darden) and Brenda (Rosa Salazar).
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Looking for more TV recommendations and discussion? Head over to our Facebook Group to see new picks every day, and chat with other readers about what they're watching right now.In the Maze Runner: The Death Cure, a group of teenagers are tasked with saving the world. ĭigital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. If you're in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For any concerns and latest advice, visit the World Health Organisation. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it's possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date.
The father-son duo took part in the conversation in support of the British Red Cross, which has started a Phone A Friend campaign in these challenging times.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic also recently led to a virtual reunion between Harry Potter stars Jason Isaacs and Tom Felton.
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