Movie review
January 10, 2018 · 143 min · PG-13 · Sci-Fi · Action · Thriller · Adventure
Thomas, Newt, and Frypan join the Right Arm to free Immunes and rescue Minho from WCKD. WCKD tortures immune kids while chasing a cure for the Flare virus. The group reaches the walled Last City and allies with Gally and rebel leader Lawrence. They face Teresa, who now works for WCKD, and lose Newt to the Flare. The story ends with immunes escaping to a safe island haven.
The film centers on friendship, sacrifice, and medical tyranny for a greater good. It is not about race, gender, or queer identity politics. Dialogue stays on rescue and hard ethical choices, not modern identity slogans. Book changes cut telepathy and expand Teresa’s WCKD role, but they are normal adaptation choices. On screen, the Newt and Thomas bond reads as deep friendship and tragedy, not a confirmed romance.
Community feedback
Was our 10% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Maze Runner: The Death Cure.
Woke representation / casting
The film has a multi-ethnic supporting cast and strong minority allies in a modern dystopia. Women also hold power at WCKD, including Teresa as a scientist and Ava Paige as a top antagonist. The lead stays a white male named Thomas. There is no race-swap push, no first-female marketing, and no special diversity campaign. This looks like normal 2010s YA casting with only a modest diverse presence.
14%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. Dialogue is about friendship, rescue, and hard choices over WCKD experiments. It does not use modern identity talk, DEI lines, or activist slogans.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
Not present. The plot is about fighting medical tyranny and staying loyal to the group. Race, gender, and queer identity do not drive the story. The Newt and Thomas bond is shown as deep friendship and tragedy, not a confirmed romance.
0%
Western institutional / cultural critique
WCKD’s elite Last City, wall, and cure-at-any-cost system are standard YA dystopia about corrupt power. There is no modern activist frame about patriarchy, whiteness, colonial guilt, toxic masculinity, or anti-Christian messaging. The small score only reflects elite-versus-outcast imagery some viewers may read as class satire.
5%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Major book changes exist, including plot structure, telepathy, Teresa’s role, and the epilogue. These are ordinary adaptation and streamlining choices. They are not identity or DEI rewrites of characters or history.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. There is no documented anti-woke, anti-DEI, or agenda backlash aimed at this film. Public talk focused on a production injury and mixed reviews.
0%
Creator track record context
Cached scores for Wes Ball, Dashner, Nowlin, Chamian, and most producers sit in the single digits to mid-teens. Goldsmith-Vein scores higher for mainstream liberal philanthropy without identity-first creative work. Overall creator signal for activist identity content is low.
10%
Production
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