Based on the dystopian young adult book trilogy of the same name, written by James Dashner, maze runner‘s first film was released in 2014 and garnered immediate success with young audiences. Starring Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scodelario, the plot follows teenagers who are thrown into a maze without being able to remember their memories. After Thomas (O’Brien) becomes a new addition to the team, things quickly begin to deteriorate.
In addition Teen Wolf, this franchise gave O’Brien the push he needed to branch out into the world of Hollywood movies. Although the critical acclaim waned after the first film, maze runner franchise has managed to gain a large following to this day. That said, let’s take a look at all the movies in the franchise and their rankings.
3 Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
As the final installment of the three-part series, Maze Runner: The Death Cure was met with high expectations. Originally scheduled for release in the 2017, the release date was moved to 2018 due to O’Brien’s time needed to recover from a serious injury sustained while filming action sequences (as described by Vulture). Still, with the same cast of O’Brien, Scodelario, Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden and more, the last Gladers try to hijack the WCKD organization to find the cure for the virus Flare, mainly for Newt (Sangster) who ends up infecting touches. As the man whose blood turns out to be necessary for the cure, Thomas (O’Brien) has a burden on his shoulders throughout the film.
Despite the criticism of character development and storyline execution, The Atlantic Ocean, the acting performances of the cast were highly praised, especially those of O’Brien and Sangster. Just watch one of the most heartbreaking scenes out there when Thomas was forced to fight and kill the most important person in his life, and you’ll see what we mean. Even if you’d read the books and knew what was about to happen, the Thomas and Newt scenes hurt just as much. It doesn’t help to know that the whole Maze Runnerespecially Newt’s character, are queer-coded.
2 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
After the immense success of the first film, fans and critics alike waited impatiently to see if the franchise would continue in the same direction. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Released just a year after the first episode, with additional actors such as Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen and more added to the ensemble cast. The plot takes place right after the Gladers managed to escape from WCKED’s maze structure. Their hopes of starting a new life free from the organization are quickly swept under the rug when they realize the Scorches are just another challenge to test their abilities. They quickly understand that the maze was a safe haven compared to what is out there: a greater chance of infection and the already infected ‘Cranks’ that are bloodthirsty for reproduction.
In The Scorch Trials, we get to see new sides of the characters as they interact with the real world scorched by the sun, and we get to see their survival skills and teamwork in more detail. The lack of plot that received the most criticism was overshadowed by the cast’s great chemistry on and off screen. The production didn’t have to worry about the critics’ reviews when the… maze runner franchise had managed to build a devoted fandom, which, even now four years later, returns to reminisce and feel a sense of nostalgia.
1 Maze Runner (2014)
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Considered better than most previous book-to-movie adaptations for young adults, maze runner was Wes Ball’s directorial debut in 2014. Based on a book series of the same name, the first part follows a young boy Thomas (O’Brien) who wakes up in a rusty elevator with no memory of his memories. He meets the Gladers, who live in a maze and have been trying to find their way out for years, while building a functional society among themselves. What makes the first film the best and most exciting is the lack of knowledge we have of the world; the audience is essentially forced to learn the rules and features along with the main character.
Despite deviating so thoroughly from the actual source material, maze runner was performed wonderfully. The actors did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life and giving them their own unique personalities. What caught our attention from the start is how Thomas and Newt’s relationship was framed as a “should have been a gay romantic tragedy”. The filmmakers didn’t even try to make Thomas and Teresa (Scodelario) a convincing pair. And what may keep the franchise interesting until the end isn’t the plot, but the relationships between characters as they grow, evolve, and cause pain.