The Maze Runner (2014)

Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.

Director:

Wes Ball

Writers:

Noah Oppenheim (screenplay by), Grant Pierce Myers (screenplay by)

Stars:

Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter

4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan O'Brien	...	Thomas
Aml Ameen	...	Alby
Ki Hong Lee	...	Minho
Blake Cooper	...	Chuck
Thomas Brodie-Sangster	...	Newt
Will Poulter	...	Gally
Dexter Darden	...	Frypan
Kaya Scodelario	...	Teresa
Chris Sheffield	...	Ben
Joe Adler	...	Zart
Alexander Flores	...	Winston
Jacob Latimore	...	Jeff
Randall D. Cunningham	...	Clint
Patricia Clarkson	...	Ava Paige
Don McManus	...	Masked Man

Storyline

Awakening in an elevator, remembering nothing of his past, Thomas emerges into a world of about thirty teenage boys, all without past memories, who have learned to survive under their own set of rules in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. With a new boy arriving every thirty days, the group has been in "The Glade" for three years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space (patrolled by cyborg monsters named 'Grievers'). They have begun to give up hope when a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change with the boys dividing into two factions: those willing to risk their lives to escape and those wanting to hang onto what they've got and survive.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage boy | maze | dystopia | based on novel | open ended | 

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Taglines:

Get ready to run.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, including some disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production had to hire snake wranglers to make sure the areas where they were filming were snake free. Before filming began the wranglers found 25 venomous snakes. The biggest one they found was a 5 foot rattlesnake.

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Goofs

When the Gladers are banishing Ben, the scenes sometimes show that the Gladers are standing with their weapons/poles straight up and other scenes the Gladers are standing with their weapons/poles in a "ready to push" position.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Thomas: Hey! Hey! Help me!

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Alternate Versions

After initially receiving a '15' rating, Fox cut 43 seconds of violence, threat and injury detail from the UK version to earn a less restrictive '12A' rating for the cinema release. This same cut version was later released on DVD and Blu-ray with a '12' rating, although an uncut Steelbook Blu-ray was given a limited release with a '15' rating.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Teen Movie Franchises (2019)

User Reviews

Intriguing Fantasy Tale

I can see I am in the minority here, but, to be honest, I found the film to be quite intriguing and exciting. I went into the movie "cold", not having read the novel by James Dashner or knowing very much about the plot. For me, this was the type of film that I knew if I just went with the flow and didn't try and look for all the holes in the story and script that I'd be better off.

The way the film was presented by first time director Wes Ball was top notch, as I felt I was right there in the maze with the main characters. The obvious set-up for a sequel at the end of the movie didn't bother me too much as it seems like every movie of this type "has to" have at least one.

In summary, I found this movie to be very absorbing and kept my interest throughout.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Maze Runner

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$34,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,512,804, 21 September 2014

Gross USA:

$102,427,862

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$348,319,861

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Gotham Group, Temple Hill Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat Dolby Atmos SDDS Auro 11.1 Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1