Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

Director: Wes Ball

Cast:

Dylan O’ Brien – Thomas

Kaya Scodelario – Teresa

Thomas Brodie-Sangster – Newt

Rosa Salazar – Brenda

Giancarlo Esposito – Jorge

Ki Hong Lee – Minho

Summary:

“Maze Runner: The Death Cure” is once again directed by Wes Ball and takes place after the events of the previous film, “The Scorch Trials.” Thomas and the remaining kids from the last film attempt to break out Minho from W.C.K.D. while they continue to find a cure for the ‘Flare.’ I’m happy to report that Ball and the team finished the series on a positive note. After a mediocre middle chapter, “The Death Cure” focuses on one objective and Ball once again showcases his skills as an action director. He handles shootouts and explosions well as if he took the best notes from Michael Bay. Dylan O’ Brien is terrific again as Thomas. He continues to be a threat as both a dramatic actor and action star. Teresa is a more fleshed out character as you begin to understand why she turned back to her captors. It helped showcase Kaya Scodelario’s acting ability. Walton Goggins plays a resistance group leader who was pointless and looked like Will Turner’s father from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The camaraderie between the cast was one of the bright spots of the film. It precipitated a friendship that was established in the first film and ended on an emotional level. An issue I had with the last film occurs in this one. They use the same sole screenwriter as he yet again wrote another mediocre script. Luckily, there is enough action to get past it. The story involving Thomas and Teresa goes the way you expect it to. The movie doesn’t really pick up until the halfway point which is an issue since the runtime is close to two and a half hours. The ending of the film felt overlong and should have been cut down about five or ten minutes. All in all, “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” is a positive sendoff to an enjoyable series that continues to give us Dylan O’ Brien.

Score: 3/5

Allegiant(2016)

Director: Robert Schwentke

Cast:

Shailene Woodley – Tris

Theo James – Four

Ansel Elgort – Caleb

Zoe Kravitz – Christina

Miles Teller – Peter

Naomi Watts – Evelyn

Jeff Daniels – David

Verdict:

Allegiant is directed by Robert Schwentke and is the third installment in

the Divergent series. The cast from the last two returns with the exception of Jeff Daniels.

Shailene Woodley and Theo James once again show how good there chemistry is with one

another. Theo James has proven to me that he is a serious actor as he and Woodley were

both good on screen. The plot essentially is that Tris and her group want to escape over the

wall and once they do, things start to happen that they question. I would say that this

movie falters in the first half as the pacing is slow and there really isn’t much

development to the story. The second half is where it gets more interesting. While I

was watching the film, I couldn’t stop thinking how much the wasteland and vehicles in

the movie look as if they came out of a Halo videogame. Jeff Daniels was okay and Miles

Teller once again played a great selfish D-bag. If your a fan of the books and the previous

films, give this one a watch.

Grade: C