The Maze Runner (2014)

Most people think so. 70% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics agree, scoring it 62%.

A teenager with no memory of his past finds himself among a group of boys living in a walled enclosure surrounded by a massive, ever-changing maze. As he struggles to adapt to their rules and society, he begins to uncover clues that may lead to escape and the truth behind their confinement. Wikipedia ↗

The Maze Runner is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Wes Ball, based on James Dashner's 2009 novel of the same name. The film follows Thomas, played by Dylan O'Brien, who awakens in a rising elevator with no memory of who he is or how he arrived. He finds himself in the Glade, a community of teenage boys trapped at the center of an enormous, ever-changing maze populated by deadly biomechanical creatures called Grievers.

As Thomas begins to recover fragments of his past, he challenges the Glade's established order and pushes for escape, believing there must be a way out of the maze. The Maze Runner distinguished itself from other young adult dystopian adaptations through its emphasis on mystery and survival rather than romance and revolution, functioning more as a sci-fi thriller than a political allegory. First-time feature director Wes Ball brought a confident visual sense to the production, filming the Glade scenes on location in a Louisiana bayou that gave the settlement a genuine, lived-in quality, while the maze itself was constructed as an impressive practical set supplemented by visual effects.

Dylan O'Brien's committed physical performance — he performed many of his own stunts — anchored the ensemble young cast and launched his career as a leading man. The film earned $348 million worldwide on a modest $34 million budget, a strong return that launched a trilogy. The Maze Runner was praised for its propulsive pacing and genuine sense of danger, with the Griever attack sequences delivering effective horror-tinged thrills unusual in PG-13 young adult fare.

The film's success contributed to the 2010s boom in young adult franchise adaptations, though the Maze Runner series maintained a more action-oriented identity than its competitors.