The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Honest action, emotional goodbyes (hint, hint), and series closure, what more would a Maze Runner franchise fan want?

The third Maze Runner film follows Thomas (Dylan Obrien), Newt (Thomas Brodie), and other returning characters, as they attempt to save Minho (Ki Hong Lee) from the evil WKCD. The group has to break into the headquarters of WCKD’s safe city, in order to rescue Minho from being used by WCKD’s scientists as a lab rat for a cure that targets a universal epidemic: one that turns humans into zombies.

The film’s setting is a bit of a disappointment for some fans, especially since the last film in the Maze Runner franchise offered a unique and thrilling environment, and provided a clear mission for its protagonist. The current setting – WCKD city – is very much average when compared to its older counterparts. Indeed, the neon blue lit skyscrapers are not conducive to building an immersive cinematic experience. In other words, the cinematic setting is not far enough from real world settings.

Dylan Obrien’s portrayal of Thomas and his acting skills were not different from previous films, standing steady at a rating of good. Thomas Brodie, on the other hand, excelled as a performer, proving his high caliber more than a few times through emotional scenes, and even within the film’s action sequences. Brodie proved he is not to be overshadowed by anyone, not even the film’s protagonist.

Rosa Salazar’s spot-on performance, as Brenda, truly did her funny, badass, and loyal character justice. Even though Brenda was not at all given her deserved on-screen time, she still managed to excel. Kaya Scodelario’s performance, as Theresa (a character who betrays the group to join WCKD) was also quite notable. Scodelario did an impressive job at revealing her character’s multi-faceted layers: a very humane obsession, a twisted view of the greater good, and a love conflict. These two female characters presented complexity and intrigue that overcame any other in the film, and that is in the short character focus time they received in the 140-minute film. 

Seeing that these characters are not new ones, the stage was already set for character development: character development continued steadily as they faced difficulties, conflicts with characters from their past, and unresolved issues. An especially notable character interaction is the one between Thomas (Obrien) and Theresa (Scodelario). In a very realistic and extremely relatable dynamic, Thomas and Theresa find themselves with unresolved feelings for one other, despite her betrayal of the group. The continuity of these unresolved feelings makes for a more authentic cinematic narrative: the script avoids the trap of a shallow “switch sides and revenge” cliché. Brenda (Rosa Salazar) even points out to Thomas that he has an issue with letting people go even when he needs to; this latter point strikes high on the scale of audience relatability, whilst adding depth to all three characters.

The film also features exhilarating, and sometimes even insane, action scenes. There are several examples of cool action sequences, throughout the film; Brendain’s scene involving a crane and a bus, scenes involving gun fights, scenes involving fist fights, and sequences depicting dangerous getaways, all make for an action filled fire cracker, that left audiences gasping on several occasions.

Maze Runner: Death Cure is mainly a film for those already caught up in the series, and are consequently hungry for the grand finale. Although the film offers thrilling action sequences, the steaks won’t seem as high and the emotional moments won’t seem as intense, if the viewer is not already a Maze Runner Fan. So, watch the first two films become a fan, and once you do, don’t forget to bring tissues to the finale.