Today’s post for Book vs Film focuses on The Maze Runner. On this occasion I will briefly review both film and book before giving my opinion on which is better. Read and let me know if I am correct in my assessment.
Be warned! Spoilers may occur!
The Book:
This is a fabulous book. And one that is really easy to get into and the world. Even though it has its own slang! The book felt unique and compelling to read as we found out more about the Maze and the secrets that lie beyond.
And despite being set in a dystopia world, this book manages to focus more on the survival skills required in the Maze rather than how different the world is compared to before. For example the glade has groups of people doing different tasks so that the group can survive. In all could have been an each for his own kind of affair…
All the questions that you will have as you read the book are the same as all the characters. They enter the Maze with no memory of anything, who they are and where they come from is gone. They are at the same starting point as us.
And the Maze is a puzzle waiting to be solved. This is a great little mystery and just when you think you’ve got everything sorted and understood, it changes.
This may be a grim and gritty read, that is unrelentingly dark, but you still hope you can find the light, or at least the truth regarding what the Maze is all about. This is a book that will keep you hooked and make you excited for the next one.
The Film:
For the film discussion I’m going to focus on some of the changes from the book and whether I thought that they were good or bad. Otherwise you’re just going to have a repeat of the above. So for the spoilers I’m sorry. Sort of…
In the film Alby is the first Glader, in the book it is a group of them. I liked this because it made Alby a more respected leader and it made me respect the order and system of the Glade. Simply it makes the background to the Glade more understandable.
The lack of telepathy between Teresa and Thomas. Ok so this would have been quite cool if it worked, but I never like it in films so it is ok that this isn’t in the film. Having said that lots of important information told telepathically gets missed.
The Grievers are waaaaaaay scary. Um why is it that when you can actually see a scary monster they scare you? Don’t answer that, stupid question. For the book I imagined creepy slimy weird things and now they are kinda robotic stinging spiders. They are a nightmare that I do not want to meet.
One thing that I really didn’t like about the films was THAT NO-ONE HAD BEEN STUNG. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE AND THEN SUDDENLY BEN IS STUNG? Makes no sense and it doesn’t help explain the why Gally is hostile to Thomas. It’s a variable in the Maze and one that is part of the Maze testing.
Also I felt entirely different about WICKED. More like the organisation is actually wicked rather than desperately attempting to save the world, if that makes any sense? I think that this is because there are no Beetle Blades or at least there is no evidence in the film that WICKED is watching.
I did like the overall look of the film. Overall, I thought it showed the character of the book, while still maintaining the ‘best bits’. Chuck was still an adorable person who you want to protect and has a fantastic brotherly relationship with Thomas. The Maze is a horrible place you want to escape from.
Opinion:
There is so much difference between the two. Some of the changes in the film make the story better. Other changes make sense, the film would not have worked if those changes had not occurred.
Overall the film is a good adaptation. It constantly nods towards the book while being a completely different affair. Both are fast-paced, while shrouded in mystery, with the truth only coming out toward the end.
Both are entertaining in their own right. But I feel that the book has the edge when it comes to resonating with the reader. For me the film fell a bit flat. Which I can definitely conclude as my family (all non-readers of the book) disliked the film. They obviously have poor taste.
Winner:
The book obviously….
I had this one on my TBR list for a while… I still can’t get myself to read it, there’s always some other book on the way 😉
Haha. It took me a while to read them but I was so glad when I finally did!