Decent, but Nothing to Write Home About

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2014)

The premise is pretty entertaining, though as others have pointed out here it is not entirely original. See "Cube" (1997) for a much better treatment of the "Strangers trapped together and they don't know why." theme. Maze also follows the approach that viewer learns more along with the characters - which works pretty well for most of the film.
The visual effects were well done throughout and the design of look and feel of the maze creatures was very well done. Unfortunately while the story starts out strong, the plot pretty much falls apart at the end, with a lot of things happening that don't seem to make a great deal of sense, and then they throw in a big hook for the sequel.
Generally the acting is pretty good, other than the over the top stuff by the fellow playing Gally. Perhaps he was just upset because his character was badly written, but whether it was the acting or the way the character was written it doesn't work.
I have not read the books on which Maze is based so there a number of unexplained or poorly explained plot points especially toward the end that I didn't get. Some folks have suggested that one ought to read the book to really get what's going on - I'm not going to do that, the screenwriter's job is to explain them or leave it out, and this movie wasn't good enough to sell me on the books.
I think the most disappointing aspect of The Maze Runner is that I have the distinct impression it could have been a lot better if they had spent more time on adapting the story.