The Maze Runner 2014 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film

The Maze Runner is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction action thrillerfilm directed by Wes Ball, in his directorial debut, based on James Dashner's 2009 novel of the same name. The film is the first installment in The Maze Runner film series and was produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, and Lee Stollman with a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter, and Patricia Clarkson. The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by O'Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn he's been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a large number of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all while establishing a functioning society in what they call the Glade.

Development of The Maze Runner began in January 2011 when Foxpurchased the film rights to Dashner's novel with film studios Temple Hill Entertainment and TSG Entertainment. Principal photography began inBaton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013 and officially concluded on July 12, 2013.

The Maze Runner was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who considered it better than most young adult book-to-film adaptations, though the ending and the lack of plot clarity received some criticism. The film was also a commercial success, as it topped the box-office during its opening weekend with a $32.5 million debut, making it the seventh-highest grossing debut in September. The film earned over $345.5 million worldwide at the box-office, against its budget of $34 million.

A sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, was released on September 18, 2015 in the United States.

A 16-year-old boy wakes up inside an underground service elevator with no memory of his identity. A group of male youths greet him in a large grassy area called the Glade that is enclosed by tall, stone walls. Every month, a new boy and supplies arrive in the elevator. The boys, who call themselves Gladers, have formed a rudimentary society with each assuming specialized tasks. Alby, their leader and the first to arrive in the Glade, says every boy eventually recalls his name, but none remember their past. The boy learns that a vast Maze surrounding the Glade may provide the only way out. During the day, designated Runners search the Maze for an escape route, returning before nightfall when the entrance closes. No one has ever survived a night inside the Maze.

While in a competition with another boy, named Captain Gally, the boy suddenly remembers his name is Thomas. The next day, Thomas is attacked by Ben, a Runner delirious from being stung by a Griever – deadly techno-organic creatures that roam the Maze at night. Ben is forced into the Maze and left to die as there is no cure for what the Griever infected him with. Minho, the lead Runner, and Alby later retrace Ben's steps inside the Maze. Minho reappears at dusk dragging Alby, who is stung, but they are unable to reach the closing entrance in time. Thomas spontaneously runs into the Maze to help but all three are trapped. During the night in the Maze, Thomas and Minho tie Alby up high on the Maze wall to hide him from the Grievers, but Minho abandons Thomas when a Griever emerges from the center of the Maze. Thomas slides under the Maze wall, managing to hide from a Griever. Later, Thomas finds Minho and his actions during the night keeps them alive, and he kills a Griever by tricking it into a narrow, closing passageway thus causing it to be crushed, making him the first to ever survive a night in the Maze and kill a Griever. To the other boys' astonishment, they return the next morning.

The next morning, the first-ever girl arrives in the elevator. She apparently recognizes Thomas though he cannot remember her. A note says that "She is the last one ever". Thomas, Minho, Winston, Zart and Frypan enter the Maze. They locate the Griever corpse and remove a beeping mechanical device from inside it. Gally claims Thomas has jeopardized the fragile peace between the Gladers and the Grievers and wants him punished, but Newt, the group's second-in-command, instead designates Thomas a Runner. Minho shows Thomas a scale model of the Maze he has built, based on his three years of exploration. The Maze's numbered sections open and close in a regular sequence that might be a code. The device is numbered to correspond to a certain section within the Maze. With the mechanical device, they may be able to find an escape route.

The girl, Teresa, has two syringes filled with an unknown substance. One is used on Alby, and he gradually recovers from the Griever sting and begins regaining his memories. Minho and Thomas venture back into the Maze and discover a possible exit but are nearly trapped, barely making it back to the Glade.

That night, the Maze entrance does not close while others open, letting Grievers pour in. A massacre ensues as the Gladers, practically defenseless against the Grievers, struggle to fight back or hide. Alby, Zart, and a few others are killed during the attack. Thomas is assaulted by Gally after the chaos, who blames him for everything that has happened. Thomas, who has had disconnected memory flashes since arriving, stabs himself with a severed Griever stinger in an attempt to revive his memory. The others inject him with the last anti-venom. Unconscious, he recalls that he and Teresa worked for the organization that created the Maze, W.C.K.D. (World in Catastrophe: Killzone Department); the boys unknowingly have been test subjects for an experiment. Thomas awakens and shares this information with Newt, Minho, Chuck, and Teresa.

Meanwhile, Gally has taken command and intends to sacrifice Thomas and Teresa to the Grievers to restore the peace. Most of the Gladers are swayed to free Thomas and Teresa and attempt escaping the Maze, but Gally and a few others refuse to leave. Fighting Grievers as they go, the survivors escape the Maze (in the process Jeff dies trying to save Minho) and eventually enter a laboratory strewn with dead scientists and technicians. A woman named Ava Paige in a video recording explains that the planet has been devastated by a massive solar flare, followed by a pandemic of a deadly, incurable virus called the Flare that affects the brain of the afflicted. We learn that the Gladers appeared to be immune to the virus. The Gladers learn that they were part of an experiment studying the way their brains worked as a resistance to the virus. At the end, the woman in the video shoots herself as the lab is being attacked by men with military-style weapons but dressed more like mercenaries. Gally suddenly appears armed with a gun he found. Delirious from a Griever sting, he insists they must stay in the Maze, then aims at Thomas intending to kill him in revenge for the Glade's destruction. Minho kills Gally with a spear, but not before Chuck is fatally shot protecting Thomas, who is devastated by his friend's death. Masked armed men rush in and take the group to a helicopter. As they fly over the Maze, it is revealed to be placed in a vast desert wasteland. Eventually, the helicopter approaches a ruined city.

The scene ends with the supposedly-dead scientists meeting in a room. The leader, Paige, notes that the experiment has been a success; the survivors are now entering Phase Two.

CastDylan O'Brien as Thomas, the last male to enter the Glade
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt, second in command of the Gladers.
Ki Hong Lee as Minho, the Keeper of the Runners
Kaya Scodelario as Teresa, the first and only female Glader
Aml Ameen as Alby, the first male to enter the Glade and the leader of the Gladers
Will Poulter as Gally, the Glade's enforcer
Blake Cooper as Chuck, a chubby friend of Thomas and also the youngest Glader
Dexter Darden as Frypan, the Keeper of the Cooks
Jacob Latimore as Jeff, the main med-jack of the Gladers
Chris Sheffield as Ben, a runner
Joe Adler as Zart
Alexander Flores as Winston, the Keeper of the Slicers
Randall D. Cunningham as Clint
Patricia Clarkson as Ava Paige, the enigmatic highest-ranking official of WCKD.