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 & 11 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 | based on novel | maze | open ended | concrete wall | 

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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

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, 19 September 2014, Wide Release

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This $34 million epic was shot in just 44 days.

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Goofs

All of the boys are clearly teenagers that have hit puberty, yet none of them show any sign of facial hair when most should have some even if they can't grow a full beard.

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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

Referenced in PWN: Teen Movie Marathon - PWN #26 (2018)

User Reviews

Awesome

what can i say. i LOVED this film.

yeah sure, it has a *few* weak points and maybe a plot hole or two. And the acting is barebones, these are kids, not Cyrano De Bergerac or Mephistofele, but boy the film is well done.

I mistakenly googled the film's name before it was over, and disappointed myself to learn that it's just the first of three parts, so it means waiting another 2-3 years for the other two films, but that means also that i have something to look forward to.

Now, i normally like more "profound" films, but for once, i really enjoyed this sci-fi romp and no, it's nothing like Twilight. A couple of the characters (Gally, Chuck) are phoned in, but then again, how would you write this kind of plot without these characters getting thrown in?

So the film is a very pleasant, well paced, well directed, reasonably well acted, decently scored, great .. well, nice CGI, entertaining film that will please just about every audience there is, without being horribly commercial, soppy and cliché.

I haven't had this much fun in a long while - although i gotta say Edge OF Tomorrow was just as good.

My final vote - a very solid 8/10, and I'm wishing for parts 2 and 3 ASAP.