Last Friday, the movie The Maze Runner, a movie adaption of the first book in the series by James Dashner, was released into theaters.

In The Maze Runner, Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, and a group of teenage boys are trapped in an enclosing surrounded by The Maze, a treacherous labyrinth that only The Runners can navigate. Every day, The Runners enter The Maze and enter it to try to find a way out. The other teenage boys have created a civilization of their own. None of these boys, who call themselves The Gladers, have any memories besides their name; they have no idea why they were put in The Glade, the place where they are forced to live. The only clue is the name on their supply boxes, which have W.C.K.D stamped on them. As things start going wrong, Thomas wonders if The Gladers are meant to stay in their “cage” forever. The movie follows the journey of the Gladers as they attempt to escape their prison.

The Maze Runner incorporates humor, action and suspense into a thrilling movie that action lovers and Dylan O’Brien fans alike will love. The movie never got boring and even the more quiet moments were interesting and had the audience on the edge of their seats.

The movie follows the book very well; the characters are, for the most part, depict the same characters they were in the book and the plot is followed closely although (Spoiler Alert!) Teresa and Thomas can’t communicate telepathically in the movie (or if they can, it is never shown). The Gladers also don’t know as much about treating Griever stings in the movie as they do in the book.

As a fan of The Maze Runner book series, I appreciated how well the movie was adapted. The character personalities were accurate; Thomas was curious and the other major characters (Teresa, Minho, Newt, Alby and Chuck) were also well-captured in the movie. The atmosphere of the movie was also very similar; it had the same degree of suspense, action and friendship that made The Maze Runner an immersive book.