The Maze Runner: Movie Vs. Book

The Maze Runner, James Dashner, published October 6, 2009. This book is about a group of boys who live in a place called the glade surrounded by a maze, working together to conquer escaping maze and when the first girl ever to arrive (Teresa), seems to somehow know the main character, Thomas. I prefer the book better than the movie because in the book I could imagine everything and loved it. When people read the book, the reader is disappointed in the movie because readers miss big parts of the plot. People would like the movie better— even if they haven’t read the book— if it was more suspenseful and mysterious.The gap between the Maze Runner book and movie could be bridged together with changes to the movie in the characters emotions, relationships, and the ending conflict.

At the beginning of the book, the author makes the reader feel lost with the characters, and when a viewer watches the movie, the audience lacks the need to have an emotional connection like they are in the book. One detail from book is when it was dark all day and it said in the book that it was always sunny there, so it felt like it was going to be the end of them, but in the movie it just seemed like another normal rainy day.

Another detail was when Ben was stung and attacked Thomas, in the book it was a huge significance in the plot, but in the movie it needed more signification and specialty like the book. The big event that was changed from the book is that the boys already had the griever serum, but in the movie that detail was changed. Teresa wrote ”Wicked is good” on her arm after she woke up from her coma in the book, and it felt like you knew the answer to everything,but in the movie the viewers didn’t get to experience that. Lastly, a huge reveal that the movie omitted is when Thomas said their character’s names were short for other real geniuses and it revealed entirely that the movie needed.

The tremendous situation that went on during the book is when Thomas and Teresa could talk to each other in their minds, and the movie needed that to show that they knew each other and they share something special. Also, they show each other differently and how they meet, and how Thomas knew Wicked is all different from the book that I thought was less interesting. I thought it was cool that in the movie, the code was the numbers of the maze, but it would be way more interesting like in the book where it’s letters and it’s suspenseful for the audience trying to figure it out with the characters in the book.

Another thing that was a significant part of the plot was when Alby set the map room on fire, because when he was stung he went through the changing, and he didn’t want anyone to leave, well if you place it in the movie then it will get your audience wondering. Lastly, in the book the grieves took one person a night and that made it really scary and suspenseful, but I know you can’t put every single detail in a movie, but you can make it more alluring and pleasing, so that it will make the audience want more.

While, the ending of the Maze Runner was divergent from the book with the position. I thought the part in the movie where it was explaining the epilogue was well detailed and exact with the book, also, as the audience I feel it was suspenseful and made me want more of the Maze Runner. The big resolution of the plot needed a huge finish comparable to the book. If Gally in the movie did not die, it would be more dark and cryptic for the audience trying to figure out who is in the hood, and it would be more shocking. I sense that the part in the movie where Chuck died was good by showing the relationship between him and Thomas, but when he died it needed more emphasis.

In the book, Gally threw the dagger which felt more personal than a gun, also the dagger went with the style of the maze. Another thing, in the book Gally said, “they can control me,” so the audience can infer that the creators made him throw the dagger, so that made it more perplexing, especially when Thomas attacked him. Lastly, the gladers went on a bus across towns and cities and they think it’s over, but in the movie they went on a helicopter and I think the viewers needed to see something tremendous leading up to the epilogue. The massive thing is not knowing who the people on the bus were and being told about the flare, but the movie did do a great job with putting the flare image in the viewers head to give them the emotional feeling.

When one considers the changes made in the characters emotions, relationships, and ending plot it will bridge the differences between the movie and the book. The movie is great with pictures, especially if you are a visual learner, and the part at the end of the movie when it showed the whole maze that was amazing, because if you just read the book you could have never gotten that, but it needs to have more details to make the movie different and exciting for viewer. The movie was excellent with the imagery and how they used it from the books description, especially with the maze, but the movie needs to be different and astonishing from other movies. I know you can’t fit everything in the book into a like two hour movie, but you need to have the main plots details.

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