Thomas. You can save your friends. or you can save us all (Maze Runner: The Death Cure 2018)

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Maze Runner: The Death Cure

 7/10

The final instalment in the Maze Runner series comes with the name 'Death Cure', instantly giving us thoughts about whether the virus that is creating zombies, will finally get treated. That's if you have already seen the other two instalments, which were pretty ok. The trailer gives us a little bit of information, dealing with our main character facing a choice that he could either save his friends, or the world, along with showing plenty of action and some decent stand-offs, which are always a main feature of a finale. Let's see if this ends with an escape to the trials that the gang has been put up against, or if the movie will be a virus to the series.

Thomas, played by Dylan O'Brien, Newt and Frypan, are the last of the 'Gladers' from the first movie, which are still together, free and immune. Against the orders of their group leader, Vince, they set off to free their friend, Minho, who is being tortured by the organisation, WCKD, who are looking for an immunity from the virus, within these youngster's blood. After a decent attempt, they end up picking up the wrong trailer and although they free plenty of kids, their friend is still in enemy hands. They trio end up heading to the last known city, which WCKD occupy, knowing that their friend would be there. On entry, they have to go through an underground tunnel and we all know how this is going to end. They are set upon by 'cracks', the zombies and are saved by two other members of their group, who have followed them, Jorge and Brenda.

They finally make it to the wall of the Last City, which is huge and protects the place from Cranks. Outside, people are protesting to be let in, leading to WCKD opening fire on them, cleaning most of them out with explosives. We have already seen on the walk in, some men on a truck, wearing masks and heavily armed, taking quite an interest in Tom. In the commotion, our gang is captured by some masked assailants and are bundled into the back of a van. As they are driving to a hideout and thrown out of the van, I can guess straight away that one of these guys is someone that we thought had died at the end of the first movie. It is, it's Gally, who the left to die after he turned on the group. He takes them to see a guy called Lawrence, the rebellious leader who has caught the virus but is treating himself somehow, but still, he looks like a kind of character from Fallout. He grants them permission to head into the city, through his secret passage and Gally leads the way to a vantage point, where he spots Teresa in the WCKD headquarters, seemingly enjoying her work. Gally suggests that she is the one who can gain them access to the building and to Minho. They use Thomas as bait, on her walk home from work and as she follows, they all capture her and she finally agrees to help them. She even treats their wounds and is shocked to see that although Thomas was infected, he has fought the virus easily.  

Thomas, Newt and Gally take her in, disguised as the security and they head into the main rooms that are contain the youngsters. Gally stays to free them and also to get into the vault for the serum, which was the deal with Lawrence for letting them use the tunnel in. The other three head to find Minho, who has been moved for more torture. They are caught and chased by a vengeful Janson, who is played by the same guy who plays Little Finger in A Game of Thrones, so you instantly recognise him as a prick. Teresa lets them escape to find their friend but also takes some of Thomas's blood as she locks the door on him. She runs to test it before anything else. Gally has gotten the serum and takes the immune children to a bus that Brenda has stolen, while he makes his way back inside to help the others. The WCKD forces close in on the bus before Frypan picks them up with a crane and manoeuvres them outside of the city wall. Back inside the building, Teresa has found out that Thomas's blood can cure the virus and heads to share her discovery with the leader of WCKD. The lads have found Minho and are trying to get him out of the building by means of forces but are being shot at from all angles. Teresa needs him alive but they chuck themselves out of a window and into the fountain below, somehow surviving, although it doesn't seem too deep, for the height they have fallen from.

Outside of the city, Lawrence has gathered his forces and begin to blow their way through the main gate, bring the fight to the streets with plenty of explosion along the way. The police surround the lads but one turns out, yet again, to be Gally who shoots the others and the begin their escape on foot. Newt, who has been bitten from a previous movie, is finally starting to be overcome with the virus and gives a pendant to Thomas before passing out. As the gang are heading to be picked up by Jorge in an aircraft, Teresa comes over a speaker system in the city and asks Thomas to return, telling him that he can save Newt. Newt has now become aggressive and is asking his friend to end his life for him, before he has fully turned but when Thomas refuses, Newt uses his last moments to stab himself and end the transformation with death. In his own rage, he heads back to WCKD to confront everyone and have revenge. He confronts the leader, Ava, who claims her intentions are always good, that's until she is shot in the head by Janson, who has been bitten and is now turning into a Crank himself. He knocks Thomas out and drags him to a lab, where Teresa is waiting to take his blood off him, knowing he is the main cure. Janson, makes the massive mistake of admitting that he is only really interested in curing himself. This leads to Teresa turning on him and after a fight, Janson ends up dead, allowing the last two to escape. So, she is finally good again? This bitch doesn't half change her mind. Teresa carries Thomas to a rooftop, where they are getting picked up by the rest of the gang and as she chucks and injured Thomas onto the craft, she hands him the vial with the cure, before the building collapses beneath her and she falls to her deserved death.
The full group finally reunite with the rest of the immunes from near the beginning of the movie, escaping to a safe haven, containing some decent looking beaches, huts and a kind of freedom that they would only dream of. Thomas pretty much keeps himself away from everyone, who are receiving a talk from their leader, who reveals a massive rock on the beach that he wants everyone to carve a name of a fallen friend or loved one into, so that they aren't forgotten. Thomas looks at the pendant that Newt gave him, finding a note inside that she wrote when he knew he was turning. He tells Thomas to look after everyone and he is a hero. Thomas finally gets up to write a name into the rock. That name is Teresa.
It turns out that this movie was in complete jeopardy after an injuring to the main actor and that it may not have been released. I'm actually glad that they got around to releasing it in cinemas, even if it wasn't the greatest of series, it was still a fitting finale. We've come to know the characters now through the other two movies, so there isn't too much of a surprise, apart from one constantly switching sides whenever she felt like. It ties up every real loose end that we are looking at, with the deaths of the evil characters and most of the good ones making it to safety. There were some powerful scenes, as a best friend asked the other to kill him rather than be killed but some of the other storylines may have been drawn a little thin. As always, I have never read the books to be able to compare them to this movie but for me, it was quite enjoyable. It has action, special effects, a little bit of zombie and a happy ending.