6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Young hero, Thomas, embarks on a mission to find a cure to a deadly disease known as the "Flare".
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rosa Salazar, Ki Hong Lee, Dexter DardenAction | 100% |
Adventure | 97% |
Sci-Fi | 73% |
Teen | 26% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
D-Box
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Maze Runner: The Death Cure might have reasonably been more accurately titled Maze Runner: The Severe Injury Cure, since its release was delayed rather lengthily due to injuries suffered by star Dylan O’Brien during filming. It’s actually not hard to understand how O’Brien was so seriously injured, since (according to several online articles) a version of the sequence that actually resulted in the injury ended up in the final film, in an opening vignette that should have most adrenaline junkies feeling adequately “topped off”. Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is part of a rescue operation attempting to break into a fast moving train that has a coterie of captive Gladers (if you’re not up to speed on The Maze Runner’s sometimes obtuse verbiage, don’t worry, nothing is that hard to understand). Thomas and Vince (Barry Pepper) approach the train in a kind of dune buggy, actually driving up onto the tracks and hooking their vehicle onto the back car. It was during this sequence that O’Brien reportedly suffered a severe head injury that closed down filming for untold months (the original release date was initially slated for February 2017), but a usable take was utilized for the film, perhaps as part of a psychological or emotional “cure” for O’Brien. As exciting as this opening sequence undeniably is, it kind of unavoidably smacks of the Mad Max franchise, what with several armor plated vehicles tooling around arid wastelands that once were home to teeming metropolises. Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the derivative qualities that afflict this third film. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but in this case the long gestation period between the second and third Maze Runner films may have actually whetted some fans’ appetites, even though the film did pretty huge box office globally. This is a wrap up that will probably inescapably appeal to fans who want the story to come to its conclusion, but it’s a fairly overstuffed entry (almost two and a half hours) that has a lot of typical science fiction visual allure, but which probably takes too long to get to its emotional element.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Digitally captured with Arri Alexa XT cameras, I'm assuming this was finished at a 2K DI, though the IMDb doesn't list any information (some other online references state that it was a 2K DI). This is a great looking presentation in high definition from the usually reliable folks at Fox, one where some of the CGI can look a bit soft (especially in some of the wider establishing shots, which can almost look like paintings at times), but where practical props and actual humans offer typically excellent detail levels. As with the two other films in the series, there are almost ping ponging grading choices between blue and yellow sequences, with a lot of the WCKD material bathed in cobalt tones that may minimally deplete fine detail levels in midrange and wide shots, but which don't really materially affect things in any major way. When not subject to artificial tweaking, the palette is rather nicely warm and beautifully suffused. There are no issues with image instability and no problems with compression anomalies.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure features an effectively immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. There is consistently excellent discrete channelization of effects in the big standout set pieces, moments which also provide some of the film's best use of LFE, and there are some fun panning effects when, for instance, a nefarious WCKD fighter jet chases our intrepid heroes in the film's opening sequence. Long central moments in the WCKD laboratories have good engagement of the side and rear channels for more "high tech" sounds involving the experimentation going on. Dialogue is well rendered throughout, and there's some appealing change in ambient reverb when characters venture from inner lairs to outdoor environments. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range very wide on this problem free track.
- Visual Effects Breakdown (1080p; 16:40)
- Visual Effects Reel (1080p; 11:21)
- Wes' Selects (1080p; 8:59)
- Storyboards
Note: All of the galleries offer either a Manual Advance or an Auto Advance option. The timings are for the Auto Advance option.- Train Rescue Sequence (1080p; 16:36)
- Revised Train Rescue Sequence (1080p; 3:40)
- Minho Jungle (1080p; 00:35)
Even fans may find the long middle section of Maze Runner: The Death Cure more than a bit of a slog (hence that "boredom" statement above in the main body of the review), but for those who do push through to the story's final moments, there are some actually quite nicely done moments of catharsis that reconnect this series to some emotional content. This is big, noisy, but only intermittently exciting stuff, and will probably appeal most to diehard franchise aficionados. Technical merits are first rate and the supplementary package very enjoyable for those considering a purchase.
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