Maze Runner - The Chosen In The Labyrinth - Blu-ray

Movie: Without any memory, a boy (Dylan O`Brien) wakes up in a clearing surrounded by a group of other boys. Soon he can remember that his name is Thomas, but everything else remains in the dark. From Alby (Aml Ameen), the leader of the boys, and his number two Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) Thomas learns that he is in the middle of a huge labyrinth from which there seems to be no escape. Day after day, so-called Runners explore the labyrinth's corridors. But they have not found a way to freedom in several years. That's why Alby and the others have built a small society in which each individual has an important task to fulfill and must abide by some rules. The most important one is: never go into the labyrinth on your own. Thomas finds it very hard to just accept all this. When suddenly a girl (Kaya Scodelario) appears in the clearing who seems to know Thomas, events take a dramatic turn...

Maze Runner - The Chosen in the Labyrinth is based on the successful trilogy of novels penned by James Dashner. Of course, the comparison to other young-adult series like The Tributes of Panem or Divergent - The Destiny is obvious. And Dashner's books have also been compared to the classic Lord of the Flies and the cult TV series Lost. But even if all these associations are justified, you have to admit that the novel and its film adaptation by newcomer director Wes Ball go their own way in a very pleasant way. For example, the almost obligatory love story for this genre is dispensed with. Also, there are no youthful heroes with very special powers. The protagonists are just normal guys who have to stand their ground in an extreme situation and build a new kind of functioning society on their own. And that makes the whole thing very exciting and interesting, despite many familiar building blocks.

The distribution of roles is kept a bit very clichéd, though. Already when the camera drives the first time through the ranks of the chosen ones in the labyrinth, you know as a viewer who is the leader, who will be the antagonist for our hero, who is the lovable jerk who will faithfully stand by Thomas and who will simply fall victim to the dark mysteries of the labyrinth as an extra. And dramaturgically, subtlety isn't really the film's greatest strength either. Thus, there are dialogue sequences where you definitely have the feeling to be able to speak along. Also the almost unintentionally funny "Tell my parents that I love them - You'll tell them yourself" can't be missed.

Despite many clichés and a certain predictability Maze Runner - The Chosen in the Labyrinth is overall very exciting and atmospherically staged. The scenes inside the labyrinth even manage to give a decent goosebumps, especially to slightly younger viewers. What awaits the boys there, of course, should not be revealed at this point. But this much is said: even if it is not always taken with the logic so exactly, the special effects, the camera work and also the very good sound design provide a high level of suspense, which can be held until the open end at a decent level.

In recent years, there have been repeated attempts to follow the success of Harry Potter, Twilight or Panem with film adaptations of book series from the Young Adult area. Many of these attempts failed, which is always particularly annoying when the audience is not presented with a complete story. This would also be a major shortcoming with Maze Runner - The Chosen in the Labyrinth, however, it is already certain that there will at least be a second part, which will be released in cinemas this late summer. Wes Ball's feature debut is by no means perfect, but for what the film wants to be, the Hollywood newcomer has really done his thing well. Convincing young actors, an atmospherically dense production and decent effects clearly prevail here against the somewhat too clichéd script and ensure that in the end a thoroughly positive overall impression remains. Therefore, for lovers of gloomy dystopias, which are primarily aimed at a youthful target audience, absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: As was to be expected, the technical implementation of Maze Runner for the Blu-Ray release can convince in almost every respect. The image is crystal clear and has a tremendous amount of detail as a result. The color scheme is cohesive and the black levels are almost perfectly matched. Whether it's in the brighter shots or the darker ones, there's really hardly anything recognizable to fault about the picture quality. The same can be said for the sound, which has a wide range of effects to offer. From smaller sounds discreetly integrated into the action to large, massive sound effects, the viewer gets something thrown at their ears from all channels over and over again here. Very good!

Extras: In terms of bonus material, the Blu-ray can also fully convince. In contrast to the meagerly equipped DVD, the Blu-ray has plenty of extras to offer worth seeing and hearing. It starts with a very informative audio commentary by director Wes Ball and his screenwriter T.S. Nowlin. The two talk animatedly about the adaptation, the shooting, the effects and other aspects of the making of the film. It's clear to see the enthusiasm with which Ball approached his first feature film direction.

Continues with nine deleted scenes (approx. 18:31 min.), some of which are presented with unfinished effects and an optional commentary by the director. These are primarily character moments that don't have much impact on the dramaturgy, but do offer a few interesting moments. This is followed by 5 featurettes, which together offer a good overview of the making of the film (approx. 42:29 min.). Thereby the way from the book to the film, the actors, the shooting, the set and the digital effects are discussed in detail. All in all, a making of absolutely worth watching.

If you want to learn even more about the visual effects, you can watch some examples as a split screen with optional commentary by the director (approx. 30:19 min.). There is also a featurette on the casting of the role of Chuck (approx. 5:29 mins), as well as an image gallery, the trailer and some amusing outtakes (approx. 6:43 mins).

One of the most interesting extras is the animated short Ruin (approx. 8:29 mins), which reveals not only Wes Ball's penchant for dystopian material, but also his talent for visual effects. This very watchable short also comes with optional audio commentary. Overall, there is for this bonus package a clear: Very good!

Conclusion: Maze Runner - The Chosen in the Labyrinth is a successful prelude to the film adaptation of James Dashner successful novel trilogy. Even if the adaptation of the first part has some dramaturgical weaknesses, it can absolutely convince atmospherically and visually. On the Blu-ray presents the cinema success in very good picture and sound quality and also has a lot of worth seeing extras on board. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp