Tuesday, May 6, 2025 is Sigmund Freud’s Birthday
This morning, I watched a 2014 dystopian movie, The Maze Runner, on the indie channel, which was based on James Dashner’s 2009 novel, The Maze Runner. Directed by Wes Ball, written by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and TS Nowlin, and produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, and Lee Stollman, this movie starred Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Dexter Darden, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Patricia Clarkson, Jacob Latimore, Chris Sheffield, Joe Adler, Don McManus, Randall D. Cunningham, and Alexander Flores.
The movie starts when a young man, Thomas, is suddenly dropped into the middle of nowhere with bunch of other boys. His memory has been erased, he isn’t even sure what’s going on, and it takes him awhile to remember his first name, as he meets the other boys. From the first time in this community, he wants to start exploring and figure out a way out. But the other boys discourage him because they are scared and they want to be safe. He wants to go into the maze area, but the other boys warn him that the creature will kill him in that place. This movie is a cross between Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies, but these boys are being used in an experiment.
The boys have created their own farm society by growing their own food and caring for each other. After two boys disappear into the maze, Thomas decides to jump in afterwards, save the two boys, and kill the creature. When he leads them out, he becomes a hero, and the other boys make him a runner because he can help them escape.
They suddenly find a girl has been dropped into their land, and the first thing she says is “Thomas.” She also has a mysterious note with her stating that she is the last one to enter this land. Thomas doesn’t remember her. Thomas and Minho enter the maze, as runners, to explore a possible exit for them to escape. Thomas decides to infect himself with the creature’s stinger, before using the last anti-venom syringe, to regain his memory. The first was used on Alby to help him recover from the creature’s bite. He suddenly remembers that he worked with Teresa at the World Catastrophe Killzone Department (WCKD), who had created this maze, and they had placed these boys and one girl there for an experiment. He tells the other boys what he remembers.
A group of these boys, along with the girl, escape through the maze exit, while the rest who prefer to stay behind end up being killed by the creatures. They suddenly find themselves in front of a laboratory door and they enter to see dead bodies. They watch a video recording, where the female scientist, Ava, explains the experiment, before shooting herself in the head. There is a shooting in the laboratory, and the young boy Chuck dies. Thomas had bonded with him while he was always encouraging Chuck to stay strong until he sees his parents again. Soldiers suddenly arrive and take the other boys into a helicopter, where they are flown over the desert.
The scientists, who weren’t really dead, are inside a room, where the female scientist, Ava, tells them that this experiment is successful and this group will now enter Phase Two of the experiment.
The Maze Runner is based on the first novel in the series of three novels. The second novel is The Scorch Trials and the third novel is The Death Cure. These novels are a part of the young adult dystopian series created by James Dashner.
I noticed that the third movie, Maze Runner: The Death Cure is on YouTube to watch in full and for free.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, I decided to watch the third movie, The Death Cure, on YouTube.
Thomas and his friends stop a train to save their friends on the train. Soldiers attack them and they fight each other in the desert warzone. They enter the train cart to see the young people inside. They plan to save these young people by fixing the ship and taking them far away where everyone can live in peace.
One of the guys wakes up at their camp society. It seems deserted. He runs around to escape the creature. He is suddenly back in the laboratory, where scientists, including Ava, are checking him out and testing him for the cure.
Thomas and two other guys drive inside a dark tunnel. They encounter zombie-looking people banging on their vehicle and begging for help. As they drive past them to escape, the vehicle eventually crashes. The zombies come after them. They shoot at them to keep from becoming infected. They are rescued by Brenda and the older man in another vehicle. They stop on their road trip to check out the last city from afar.
Back at the laboratory, Ava discusses the cure with others.
A van drops them off in the city, where Thomas is reunited with Gally. Thomas is shocked to see Gally still alive. He agrees to follow Gally, as Gally leads them through the city. They go to a deformed, infected man to help them destroy WCKD.
At the laboratory, Teresa gives an infected girl a shot and tries to comfort her. Ava discusses the cure with another scientist. Teresa talks with Minho in the lab, who now looks like a braindead zombie. He attacks her and calls her a traitor. He is taken away. The young girl goes crazy from the infection. Outside in the crowded city at night, Teresa thinks she saw Thomas. She starts running around and looking for Thomas. She suddenly sees him inside a building, and they capture her and take her with them. Teresa removes Thomas’ microchip from his neck. She tells him that Brenda should have been dead by now without the serum. Gally and the infected guy, dressed as soldiers, walk Teresa out. They enter the laboratory and shoot at a soldier. When soldiers arrive at the garage, Brenda drives the bus, filled with young people, forward to escape them. Minho fights the scientists in the laboratory. Thomas and Newt arrive to help him fight.
In the laboratory, Teresa is working on the cure. The virus is being destroyed, and she needs to find Thomas. She tells Ava.
The city burns. But they need to save Thomas inside WCKD. Thomas helps Newt, as they try to get to safety. Teresa announces on the intercom that his blood will cure others, which is why Brenda is now OK.
Newt attacks him because of the infection. But Newt is stabbed and he dies. Brenda arrives before Minho, Gally and the others arrive to see their dead friend. Thomas goes inside and confronts Ava. As they chat, someone shoots Ava from the back. He takes Thomas to Teresa, where she uses his blood to save others.
The building is hit. As Thomas and Teresa try to escape, Thomas is shot. Zombies attack the man, while Thomas and Teresa escape into the burning city outside. Their friends, inside a plane, rescue them from the burning city. But they only rescue Thomas. Teresa falls into the burning city.
As Thomas recuperates on an island, he wakes up to see a new city being created on this island. The ship had brought all the saved people is nearby, and they have started their peaceful community together on this island.
I cannot find the second Maze Runner movie, The Scorch Trials anywhere yet. I will likely watch it either on the indie channel or YouTube, whenever or wherever it comes on so that I can see what happened between the first Maze Runner and third Maze Runner movies.