The Maze Runner

 

A boy wakes up inside a rusty elevator that was in the water for hours. When he arrives at the top, he is greeted by other unfamiliar boys in a grassy clearing called the Glade, which is surrounded by tall, stone walls. The boy is unable to remember anything about himself. Alby, the leader of the Glade, tells him that his condition is normal and that he should remember his name soon. He shows him the Glade and how it is run. The boy wonders what is beyond the opening in the wall adjacent to the Glade, but he is warned not to go through there, being that it is a maze. The boy meets Chuck, and the two become friends.

 

There is a party that night to welcome the newest arrival. Every month, a new person and supplies come in the elevator. Newt, second in command and gardener, explains that the Maze is the only way out. The most able boys become Runners, who are the only ones allowed into the Maze. They search for an escape route during the day, but return before nightfall, since the Maze entrance closes at dusk, and no one has ever survived a night in the Maze. The boy ends up in a fight with a boy named Gally, during which he suddenly remembers his name: Thomas.

 

While Thomas is gathering supplies in the woods, he is viciously attacked by Ben, a Runner, who has been stung by a Griever—deadly slug-like monsters with metal legs that lurk in the maze at night. The boys decide to "banish" Ben, forcing him into the Maze to die. Minho, a runner, and Alby attempt to retrace Ben's steps in the maze, but Alby is stung and rendered unconscious. Minho appears at dusk, dragging Alby towards, but is unable to reach the entrance in time. Seeing this, Thomas runs into the maze to try and help. All three boys survive the night, with Thomas successfully killing a Griever by tricking it into running into a closing wall, squashing the griever, and they return the next day with Alby to the astonishment of the other boys.

 

Gally, upset that the fragile peace between the boys and the Grievers may be in jeopardy, proposes punishing Thomas for entering the maze, though Newt overrules him and makes Thomas a Runner. Thomas accompanies Minho and a few others into the maze. They find the Griever's corpse and remove a beeping mechanical part, discovering that it is numbered to correspond to a certain section in the maze. The first ever girl arrives in the elevator, who apparently recognizes Thomas. A note indicates that she is the final person that will be sent. The girl, named Teresa, carries two syringes filled with a mysterious substance. The Gladers use one on Alby, and he gradually recovers from his sting and starts to regain his memories.

 

Minho and Thomas venture into the section of the maze on the Griever's part, discovering an escape route. They barely make it back after being forced to retreat, and inform the others. That night, a wave of Grievers pour in from the walls and attack the Gladers, killing a cured Alby, among many others. Thomas stabs himself in the leg with a severed sting and remembers that he and Teresa were part of the organization that created the maze, and that all of this was a test. Gally blames Thomas and Teresa for everything and attempts to execute them. The Gladers stop him, and most of them follow Thomas through the maze's escape route. They end up in a lab with the dead bodies of scientists strewn everywhere. A video recording of a woman plays, explaining that the planet has been destroyed by increased solar activity, followed by a pandemic. The youths in the Glade were all part of an experiment researching their apparent resistance to the pandemic. At the end of the recording, she shoots herself in the head as the lab is attacked. Gally then appears, delirious from being stung and seeking revenge on Thomas. He fires a gun at Thomas, but Minho stabs Gally with a spear. Chuck is killed by Gally's shot. Masked men rush in to take the group away to safety, with Gally watching before falling unconscious or died. The maze is revealed to be in a vast desert. The dead scientists appear alive, stating that the experiment has been a success, and the survivors are now entering Phase Two.

 

IMDB Rating: 7.7/10 from 17,671 votes

Release: 2014 / The Maze Runner

Genre: Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Director: Wes Ball

Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter

Synopsis: Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. A new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "The Glade" for two years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space. They have begun to give up hope. Then a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change. There are some great, fast-paced action scenes, particularly those involving the nightmarish Grievers who plague the boys.

 

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