Maze Runner: The Death Cure (also known as The Death Cure) is a 2018 American dystopian science fiction action film that was directed by Wes Ball and written by T. S. Nowlin, based on the novel titled The Death Cure written by James Dashner. It is the sequel to the 2015 film Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and is the third and final installment of the Maze Runner film series. The film stars Dylan O’Brien,, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Walton Goggins, Ki Hong Lee, Jacob Lofland, Katherine McNamara, Barry Pepper, Will Poulter, Rosa Salazar, and Patricia Clarkson.
The film follows Thomas, Newt, and Frypan as they are the last of the free “Gladers” and they are immune to the Flare virus that has ravaged the world’s population. They and The Right Arm resistance conduct a rescue operation where they retrieve other Immunes from a train, which is owned by WCKD, an organization that is responsible for the capturing and experimenting on immune children. They discover that Minho, their remaining Glader friend whom WCKD had captured, was not on that train that’s headed to “The Last City”, where WCKD’s base of operations is located. Against the orders of Vince, the leader of The Right Arm, the three leave their camp to rescue Minho, who is being tortured by WCKD in hopes of developing a cure for the virus.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure was originally set to be released on February 17, 2017 in the United States by 20th Century Fox, but the studio rescheduled the film’s release for January 26, 2018 in theaters and IMAX, allowing time for O’Brien to recover from injuries that he sustained during filming. The film received mixed reviews from film critics, and ended up grossing over $284 million worldwide, making it the 8th highest-grossing film of 2018.
The Film Itself (3.75/5):
Finally, we’re given the grand finale of the Maze Runner series with its latest installment, The Death Cure as it tries to answer some questions that were left up in the air after the end of the second film, and finally, we get to see what happens as a result of the victims of the virus as it’s spreading out across humanity. Overall, I found the film and the presentation to be a good time; however, I felt that it was completely predictable once my wife and I were re-familiarized with what was going on. There is a significant amount of action throughout the film that is accompanied by the typical drama that you would expect.
Picture Quality (5/5):
I was really surprised at the visual presentation that the 4K UHD release of Maze Runner: The Death Cure had to offer. Considering that it’s a “fake 4k” release, it’s overall utilization of HDR from beginning to end was absolutely fantastic. Offering a much more lifelike experience to everything, the more realistic blacks accompanied by the very sharp and distinct colors really made this release stand out.
Audio Quality (5/5):
Bundled with an English Dolby Atmos audio track, the 4K UHD release of Maze Runner: The Death Cure offers an absolutely all out immersive experience for its viewers that are able to make use of the technology behind the track. Providing audiences with a noticeable sense of camera placement as it moved from scene to scene, my wife and I really felt like we were smack dab in the middle of everything. One of the more notable sequences that really stood out with this release was that at the very beginning with the cars racing through the desert.
The Packaging (2.5/5):
The UHD release of Maze Runner: The Death Cure comes packaged in your standard two-disc UHD amaray case. Within that case is the standard 4K UHD copy of the film as well as the standard Blu-ray copy of the film. Neither of the two discs feature any artwork that’s related to the film at all outside of the standard release text and the blue or black background that’s used to visually differentiate the two discs from one another. There are no DVD copies included with this release; however, there is a digital copy redemption pamphlet for the available streaming options. There is also a slipcover that’s been made available in the initial pressing that features the same piece of artwork that’s available on the case art.
Special Features (4/5):
The UHD release of Maze Runner: The Death Cure is very much unlike any other standard 4K release. I say that because the UHD comes packaged with a single special feature while the other features are provided on the included Blu-ray disc. Available with this release is:
- Feature Audio Commentary By Director Wes Ball, Screenwirter T. S. Nowlin & Producer Joe Hartwick, Jr. **
- Deleted & Extended Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary
- Unlocking The Cure
- Going Out On Top
- Gag Reel
- Visual Effects Breakdowns & Visual Effects Reel With Optional Audio Commentary
- Photo Gallery
** Included on 4K UHD Disc
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
Runtime
Original Film: 142 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I’m really glad to see Maze Runner: The Death Cure finally get released onto home media. Knowing about the injuries that O’Brien sustained during filming had both my wife and I wondering if the release was going to end up being shelved considering that at the time, there were a significant amount of celebrity injuries or deaths. But, to finally see the series come to a conclusion, in a story that, while completely predictable, went as well as I could have hoped. While I’m not very familiar with any of the books, watching through this trilogy definitely has piqued my interest in the books and I will certainly be checking them out. The visual and audio presentation of the UHD were absolutely phenomenal, despite it being an upscaled release. If you’re considering checking this release out, I would definitely recommend it if you have the previous films in your collection. Maze Runner: The Death Cure came out onto 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday!
Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.