The Maze Runner
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: September 19, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
17
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerSep 18, 2014
Beyond the visuals, what makes The Maze Runner so compelling is its attention-grabbing storyline. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleWilliam GossSep 17, 2014
Even if it doesn’t manage to be quite the "Hunger Games"-level hit its producers would clearly desire, it’s the best of the wannabes we’ve seen so far. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallSep 18, 2014
Director Wes Ball makes a solid feature film debut, without any noticeable video game envy to his action sequences. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeEthan GilsdorfSep 18, 2014
Using a refreshingly gentle FX touch, Ball has successfully transposed the decaying, vine-covered concrete jungle look of his short onto this gorgeously-designed feature. The neophyte knows how to direct heart-pumping chase scenes and has coaxed surprisingly solid performances from his young ensemble cast, especially O’Brien and Poulter. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianStephen WhittySep 18, 2014
Director Wes Ball doesn't have much experience with actors, but for once that's a plus; his background is in animation and art direction, and the design of the maze (brutal slabs of concrete and steel) and the attacks by the spiders ("Predator"-like clicks, then stabbing violence) make the movie gruesomely watchable. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 18, 2014
As incomplete as the narrative is, The Maze Runner delivers on almost every other level. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 18, 2014
First-time feature director Wes Ball's version of The Maze Runner makes the cliches smell daisy-fresh. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 17, 2014
If you’re going to treat your audience like a rat in a maze, it’s best to offer a tastier reward than the promise of more maze to come. Read full review
75
HitfixDrew McWeenySep 15, 2014
Wes Ball's background is in animation and effects, and he certainly has an eye for composition. Thankfully, he doesn't just lean on visual flash in his debut feature, the adaptation of the first of James Dashner's four books, and his skills allow him to build a convincing world around his appealing cast without losing them in it completely. Read full review
72
Film.comKate ErblandSep 18, 2014
For a genre that so often sacrifices character development and smaller narrative developments, the majority of The Maze Runner feels quite refreshing and worth the navigation. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 18, 2014
The Maze Runner only answers some of the questions it so marvelously sets up. And while I probably now know too much about the story for it to work a similar magic next time, I find myself genuinely anticipating the next one. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatySep 19, 2014
The first two-thirds of The Maze Runner are a clever feat of fantasy world building. It's thrilling, twisty, and as mysterious as the mammoth Skinner Box environment the film takes place in. But the promising set-up raises so many puzzle-piece questions that when it's all finally explained in the final reel, you can't help feeling a bit gypped. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaSep 19, 2014
It's bleak business, and as it hurries toward its explosive, expository conclusion, the film becomes nonsensical, too. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 18, 2014
What’s intriguing about The Maze Runner – for a long time, at least – is the way it tells us a story we think we’ve heard countless times before but with a refreshingly different tone and degree of detail. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineRichard Scott LarsonSep 18, 2014
A curious blend of our newly acquired taste for dystopia alongside a healthy sprinkling of Lord of the Flies, the film offers familiar pleasures without prompting the sense of having already been here before. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeOct 7, 2014
Entertaining but never quite thrilling, this actually feels like the second film in a franchise, coasting along, but saving the best bits for the next episode. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraOct 6, 2014
It’s a well-made adventure with great energy and considerable style, but it’s essentially a maze without an exit. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 19, 2014
It's also both intense and entertaining enough to leave audiences hungry for the inevitable sequel so clearly set up by its cliffhanger ending. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanSep 18, 2014
No, there’s nothing new here. But sometimes it’s enough to be merely entertained, rather than amazed. Read full review
60
The DissolveTasha RobinsonSep 18, 2014
By establishing some of the Glade’s castes, rituals, and personalities, the writers make an incredibly contrived scenario seem a little more tangible. But once that high gear is engaged, the IQ and ambition drop precipitously. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweSep 9, 2014
Aside from some uneven handling of the cast, Ball competently styles the action sequences throughout the film and capitalizes on his VFX expertise with pulse-pounding scenes tracking the Runners through the Maze battling Grievers. Read full review
60
VarietyElla TaylorSep 9, 2014
As world-creation YA pictures go, The Maze Runner feels refreshingly low-tech and properly story-driven. Read full review
55
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSep 9, 2014
For its first half or so, The Maze Runner tells a captivating tale of survival and weaves a potentially interesting mystery. Once its path become clear, however, you realize this is a puzzle you've worked out before. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 18, 2014
Despite a strong opening and riveting first 45 minutes, The Maze Runner devolves into one of the weakest post-apocalyptic Young Adult movies to reach theaters in recent years. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartSep 18, 2014
The Maze Runner isn’t based on a video game, but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. In it, our hero must lead his comrades through a dingy gray concrete maze while dodging cyborg monsters, and it all looks like every gaming trailer you’ve ever seen. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenSep 18, 2014
Ball tends to slice and dice action sequences in a way that drains them of energy, and his attempts to churn up emotion fall disconcertingly flat. But he does stage a couple of effective adrenaline-pumping chases through the maze's industrial wasteland. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergSep 18, 2014
A perfectly serviceable entry in the young-adult dystopian sweepstakes. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 18, 2014
Maze Runner feels only partially formed. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubSep 18, 2014
Think “Lord of the Flies,” without all the jerks. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonSep 19, 2014
The Maze Runner is so bleak that it almost convinces us to take it seriously. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 18, 2014
The look of the film is impressive enough, but the performances are merely OK. The same goes for the story. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanSep 18, 2014
The Maze Runner is not a good movie, but it wins points for omitting much of what makes typical teen films excruciating. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreSep 17, 2014
The resolution to this puzzle is so botched it’s insulting, as if they’re daring us to laugh at the notion that this is merely “the beginning.” Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorSep 18, 2014
Fans of the novel might get some minor thrills from the big screen adaptation, but it's hard to understand what made the material so popular in the first place. Read full review
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