Go screeching all the Way!

Johnson Thomas

Wes Ball’s no-holds-barred actioner takes pride in dragging it out to the finish. Just when you think it’s going to be over, it comes up with some new thread that needs to be tied up- kind of mighty frustrating if you ask me. 

Imagine a mass of zombies coming at you incessantly, no matter what, and you will know what I am talking about. It’s a desolate wasteland and there’s no hiding away from that fact. And there’s no escaping it either. Such is the kind of benumbing sensation you experience while watching The Death Cure, the third and final film in the Maze Runner series based on James Dashner’s novels. 

This film opens with a 10-minute car chase cum train robbery across the desert that’s feels like “Mad Max: Fury Road” redrawn. From there-on it’s a never-ending series of challenges that the YA heroes have to overcome. The accompanying sound makes the experience powerfully immersive. 

There’s not much of a story to tell-  The Gladers , having rescued the kids, now head to WCKD's headquarters in order to rescue their fellow Minho (Ki Hong Lee)  , who is still prisoner and has been subjected to cruel experiments. They are also intent at settling a score with Dylan's love, Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), who has apparently turned traitor. Along the way, the others who lost their way join up with the motley army, to save the apocalyptic landscape that is their dystopia. 

The Death Cure is so overstuffed and distended that it feels interminable and restive. There are several dull stretches that yawn into the perpetual- so when the exciting action gets switched on, it’s already too late to save the day. The action may be quite crummy but there’s only so much you can take. The stress of having to sit through unengaging turbulence wherein characters or their stories have little of interest and only their sharp-fighting abilities are on show, is a little too much to bear in one go. Besides the opening showpiece action there’s one towards the end that involves a crane, a bus and a bunch of screaming kids – It’s thrilling but the decibels hit the roof. Add to that the massive shootouts, elaborate hand-to-hand combat and death-defying leaps, and you get an all-out actioner that misses out on being deep or meaningful enough!