Imagine waking up trapped in a metal cage with a group of strangers looking down at you, laughing, and you have no idea who you are or why you were there.  In the new movie, The Maze Runner, Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, is trapped with a group of boys, also known as the gladers, inside a massive maze.  The “gladers” have been stuck within the maze for three years and have yet to find a way out. 

The Maze Runner, directed by Wes Ball,  has amazing visuals, but also has an attention- grabbing story line.  Unlike The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner has no romance, which is a nice change.  Instead, the movie is action packed with combat between Thomas and the gladers and the W.C.K.D., a strange organization that Thomas dreams about while living on the glade.  Thomas and the gladers piece together little by little the meanings of his dreams in hopes to finally make it out of the enormous grey walls in which they are tapped. 

At the beginning, Thomas has to do all the grunt work, being the newbie on the glade.  As he took mental note of his surroundings and the gladers, he was fascinated by what may lie behind the walls that enclosed the glade.  Being told that only runners are allowed to leave the glade, Thomas wants to prove himself worthy for a chance in that position.  The maze itself is a creepy and scary place to be in the day, let alone the night.  Creatures called “grivers” are let loose in the maze and will stop at nothing to inject a glader with poison.  It is up to the runners to find a way out, and it won’t be easy. 

I found it interesting that each of the gladers had no recollection of where they were and why they were put there, and was it on purpose.  Every month there is a new person that is added to the group. The secret organization W.C.K.D. would only leave you with your name and nothing else.  For awhile it seemed like they were close to escaping, but the maze changes every night leading them nowhere.  W.C.K.D seems to have a tight hold on the gladers. Thomas is good at catching the W.C.K.D.’s mistakes and learns from them leading him to clue after clue. 

The Maze Runner was the perfect blend of Action, Mystery, and Sci-Fi. It truly represents the curiosity of the human mind. The film portrays how the teen mind works, and how people in this age group want to explore or find who they really are.  I recommend this movie for young teens as well as adults.  Two thumbs up.