Most people have heard of this dystopian trilogy. It was popular throughout 2014-
2018. It was popular during this time because dystopian movies were making headway
at this point. ‘Hunger Games’ movies were being released along with the ‘Divergent’
series. These were incredibly popular for the teens, young adults, and adults.
Dystopian is an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice.
So, what is The Maze Runner? There are 5 books in this series, created by
James Dashner in 2009. The book titles being “The Maze Runner”, “The Scorch Trials”,
“Death Cure”, “The Kill Order”, and “The Fever Code”. The books are an incredible
read, the last two are based on time before everything, so it should be read as the kill
order being first, then the fever code, then the main three. I would recommend reading
the books, they are really good. They produce a lot of feelings and leave you on the
edge of your seat. But let’s talk about the movies!
The first three books have been made into movies, the two are left undecided
whether to make a movie about them or not. Wes Ball was the director of all three
movies. The movies follow the books good, but there are a few details that are left out,
just like any book-movie adaptations. The first movie was filmed on May 13, 2013, then
released on September 19, 2014. The second movie was filmed on October 27, 2014,
then released on January 27, 2015. The last movie was filmed on March 14, 2016, but
due to the main star getting injured, the production was postponed. The movie was later
released on January 26, 2018.
The first film starts out with a young man trapped in a box-like elevator. He
wakes up there, not knowing where he is at or who he is. The elevator is then opened
from the top, revealing around 20 boys peering down at him. They help him up and
show him the ropes. The boys, ages ranging from 15 to 18 years old, are stuck in a
large field area that is surrounded by 100 ft tall walls on all 4 sides. The young man is
curious, of course, as to where he is, but the boys don’t exactly know either. All they
know is that they were send there by a company called W.I.C.K.E.D. (World In
Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department) The young man is shown around by the
‘leader’. His name is Alby. (Aml Ameen) Alby tells the young man that there are three
main rules. 1) Do your part. Help around the field, whether that be tending to crop,
making food, etc. 2) Never hurt another Glader. A Glader is what the boys call
themselves, making the field they’re in called the Glade. 3) Never go beyond the walls.
The only people that are allowed beyond the walls are the Runners.
Later it is revealed that the young man’s name is Thomas (Dylan O’brien) He
remembers his name after hitting his head. His curiosity gets the better of him, wanting
to leave the Glade, he tries to go beyond the walls. This gets him in trouble by one of
the other leaders, Gally (Will Poulter), him not being as nice as Alby. They get into an
argument, and this leads to them being considered ‘enemies’.
The next day, the Gladers sit patiently by the opening of the large walls. The
runners Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and Alby aren’t back yet. This is bad because the walls
close at a certain time, and when you get trapped in the maze, there is no coming out
alive. Thomas asks his new friend Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) if there’s anything
they can do to save them, and his reply is no. They don’t want to risk sending out more
people to die. Just when the walls begin to slowly close, Minho is seen dragging an
injured Alby in the distance. The boys shout and scream, encouraging Minho to get
back before the giant walls close. But Thomas knows they’re not going to make it.
Before the walls can fully close, Thomas runs at full speed towards the Runners. He
almost gets pulled back but makes it into the maze with the walls closing behind him.
Thomas asks Minho what’s wrong with Alby and he says he’s been ’stung’. After a
while, Minho tells Thomas congratulations for getting himself killed.
Night comes along and they haven’t gotten anywhere. In the distance they can
hear the maze changing along with screeching and chirping. They’re not alone.
They end up separating, leaving Thomas alone. He comes in contact with one of
the creatures that ‘stung’ Alby. It is a large robot scorpion-like creature called a Griever.
Thomas has to run away from the Griever and survive the night in the maze until the
doors open again. Thomas and Minho end up surviving and bring a dying Alby back.
Then something happens that has never happened before, a girl Teresa (Kaya
Scodelario) was brought up into the Glade with a note in her hand that read, “She is the
from the top, revealing around 20 boys peering down at him. They help him up and
show him the ropes. The boys, ages ranging from 15 to 18 years old, are stuck in a
large field area that is surrounded by 100 ft tall walls on all 4 sides. The young man is
curious, of course, as to where he is, but the boys don’t exactly know either. All they
know is that they were send there by a company called W.I.C.K.E.D. (World In
Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department) The young man is shown around by the
‘leader’. His name is Alby. (Aml Ameen) Alby tells the young man that there are three
main rules. 1) Do your part. Help around the field, whether that be tending to crop,
making food, etc. 2) Never hurt another Glader. A Glader is what the boys call
themselves, making the field they’re in called the Glade. 3) Never go beyond the walls.
The only people that are allowed beyond the walls are the Runners.
Later it is revealed that the young man’s name is Thomas (Dylan O’brien) He
remembers his name after hitting his head. His curiosity gets the better of him, wanting
to leave the Glade, he tries to go beyond the walls. This gets him in trouble by one of
the other leaders, Gally (Will Poulter), him not being as nice as Alby. They get into an
argument, and this leads to them being considered ‘enemies’.
The next day, the Gladers sit patiently by the opening of the large walls. The
runners Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and Alby aren’t back yet. This is bad because the walls
close at a certain time, and when you get trapped in the maze, there is no coming out
alive. Thomas asks his new friend Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) if there’s anything
they can do to save them, and his reply is no. They don’t want to risk sending out more
people to die. Just when the walls begin to slowly close, Minho is seen dragging an
injured Alby in the distance. The boys shout and scream, encouraging Minho to get
back before the giant walls close. But Thomas knows they’re not going to make it.
Before the walls can fully close, Thomas runs at full speed towards the Runners. He
almost gets pulled back but makes it into the maze with the walls closing behind him.
Thomas asks Minho what’s wrong with Alby and he says he’s been ’stung’. After a
while, Minho tells Thomas congratulations for getting himself killed.
Night comes along and they haven’t gotten anywhere. In the distance they can
hear the maze changing along with screeching and chirping. They’re not alone.
They end up separating, leaving Thomas alone. He comes in contact with one of
the creatures that ‘stung’ Alby. It is a large robot scorpion-like creature called a Griever.
Thomas has to run away from the Griever and survive the night in the maze until the
doors open again. Thomas and Minho end up surviving and bring a dying Alby back.
Then something happens that has never happened before, a girl Teresa (Kaya
Scodelario) was brought up into the Glade with a note in her hand that read, “She is the
last one ever”. This started a lot of chaos in the Glade. The rest of the movie concludes
with Thomas becoming a runner and trying to get everyone out of the maze. They get
out of the maze and are met with desert that stretches on for miles and miles. A
helicopter comes and saves the remaining survivors, claiming that they are enemies of
WICKED. The group joins the ‘enemies of WICKED’ in the helicopter and they are to be
led to a safe place. The movie ends with the main head of WICKED saying that phase
two shall begin.
To avoid Spoilers for the franchise, the next two movies will be a quick summary.
The group of survivors are taken to a ‘safe’ place where there are many other
kids who have also been in a maze. Every week there is a group of those kids that are
supposed to be taken to a safe haven. Everyone is eager to be called, wanting to be
safe. Thomas later finds out that the kids that are taken to the safe haven are actually
kept there and tested. Thomas sees that it is still WICKED they are with. This causes
Thomas to panic and try and get him and his main group to escape. They end up
escaping and have to deal with the outside world. The outside world has been scorched
by the sun, making everything sand and desert. It also caused a virus to go around,
making people turn into zombie-like creatures. They have to deal with all of this and try
to find their way to the safe haven. On the way, they meet a resistance group and side
with them to stop WICKED. They meet two characters Brenda (Rosa Salazar) and
Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito), which later become important in this movie and the next.
There is a short battle that happens which leads to WICKED taking Minho.
The third and last movie is about Thomas and his friends getting Minho back and
ending WICKED once and for all. This movie is insanely intense and has a great plot.
These movies are so good, especially for someone wanting an intense action-
packed film. I really enjoyed these movies and if this is your kind of movie, then you will
too!
out of the maze and are met with desert that stretches on for miles and miles. A
helicopter comes and saves the remaining survivors, claiming that they are enemies of
WICKED. The group joins the ‘enemies of WICKED’ in the helicopter and they are to be
led to a safe place. The movie ends with the main head of WICKED saying that phase
two shall begin.
To avoid Spoilers for the franchise, the next two movies will be a quick summary.
The group of survivors are taken to a ‘safe’ place where there are many other
kids who have also been in a maze. Every week there is a group of those kids that are
supposed to be taken to a safe haven. Everyone is eager to be called, wanting to be
safe. Thomas later finds out that the kids that are taken to the safe haven are actually
kept there and tested. Thomas sees that it is still WICKED they are with. This causes
Thomas to panic and try and get him and his main group to escape. They end up
escaping and have to deal with the outside world. The outside world has been scorched
by the sun, making everything sand and desert. It also caused a virus to go around,
making people turn into zombie-like creatures. They have to deal with all of this and try
to find their way to the safe haven. On the way, they meet a resistance group and side
with them to stop WICKED. They meet two characters Brenda (Rosa Salazar) and
Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito), which later become important in this movie and the next.
There is a short battle that happens which leads to WICKED taking Minho.
The third and last movie is about Thomas and his friends getting Minho back and
ending WICKED once and for all. This movie is insanely intense and has a great plot.
These movies are so good, especially for someone wanting an intense action-
packed film. I really enjoyed these movies and if this is your kind of movie, then you will
too!
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