Maze Runner - Death Cure
Wes Ball, 8.5/10
“Dear Thomas, this is the first letter I could remember writing”
“Dear Thomas, this is the first letter I could remember writing” – Following Teresa’s betrayal and Minho’s capture, Thomas, Newt, and Brenda are on a mission to save their friend, and put an end to WCKD’s experimentation. However, after a ostensibly successful rescue mission, they open the crate to find that Minho is not there – they had rescued the wrong people. After finding themselves in such a desperate situation, Thomas has to make a life-changing decision: risk everyone’s lives to save one person, or take the survivors and flee the country.
‘Maze Runner – Death Cure’ is a work of art. Following 2 movies that have been slowly building up context and background, Death Cure wraps up the trilogy in a bittersweet fashion – as a viewer, I felt a stab of pain at the final details of the film, and yet a weirdly lasting satisfaction at the disquieting ending. This ending, following Newt and Teresa’s deaths, concluded the film in a somber and sad tone. It also highlighted their decision to flee far away from WCKD’s grasp, therefore condemning both the residents of the Last City, and the Outer city, to a slow and inevitably painful end. This conclusion, though it may seem cruel and inhumane on Thomas/Vince’s behalf, emphasizes the dystopian nature of the film, and highlights the importance and significance of their escape. The final scene/s on their new home island, and the life-style that they live near the sea emphasizes their profound and new prioritization of water (due to the Scorch), which shows the effect that their past has had in shaping their new life. The memorial rock is a really nostalgic and painfully heartwarming feature of the final scene, and it really shows the extent to which people had suffered (throughout both the Scorch, and WCKD’s position of power). It also symbolizes their heroic and humane refusal to forget about the lives that had been lost, and the past events that they had suffered, which is very emotionally powerful.
Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is arguably one the most influential and emphatically played characters in the ‘Maze Runner’ Trilogy. His final letter to Thomas is one of the most significant scenes in the series, which adds depth and sorrow to the final scene, and reiterates the significance of everyone’s escape. His death is ultimately the reason that Thomas was going to donate his body – to save the lives of innocent people like Newt. The knowledge that he could’ve saved Newt shatters Thomas, and it adds a layer of guilt to his conscience which makes his character feel more authentic and genuine.
Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is the main character and protagonist of the ‘Maze Runner’. His character throughout the series slowly develops and simmers in the first two movies, showing occasional flashes of true bravery and leadership (such as when he runs into the closing doors of the maze). Then, in Death Cure, Thomas’s character climaxes, and the combination of internal conflict and determination to save his friends ultimately shapes and molds Thomas into a dependable and charismatic character. Thomas’s internal conflict is based around his love for Teresa and his conscience clashing, which creates a certain sympathy for Thomas, who doesn’t know what to listen to – his heart or his mind. Teresa’s betrayal visibly weighs on Thomas’s mind throughout the movie, and we can see that Thomas feels a certain level of guilt, for letting his heart choose over his mind.
In conclusion, ‘Death Cure’ is a well-produced and emotional Dystopian film, which incorporates themes of internal-conflict and thought-over-feeling, which overall add depth and meaning to the plot. It uses character-death and visible features to portray Thomas’s guilt and feeling of insufficiency in protecting his friends. Overall, it concludes the Trilogy in a wonderful climax, and brings a satisfactory ending to the built-up suspense, context and background of the first two movies.
