Image: Temple Hill Entertainment

The current obsession with young-adult dystopian films based on bestselling novels has prevailed yet again. It was a boom that started with the Twilight franchise (whether you care to admit it or not) and continued with the likes of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

From the get-go The Maze Runner follows the key convention of many futuristic sci-fi dystopia: young ‘chosen’ facing up to their subordination under an autocratic state in which they have no say. These particular revolutionaries are a group of teenage boys, trapped in the glade of a giant labyrinth – the walls of which are the mystery and continually shift at night.

16-year old Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) arrives into the quasi-arena a teenage amnesiac, like the other inmates, and becomes determined to unlock the secrets of the maze as one of the brazen ‘Runners’. In contrast, Gally (Will Poulter), the bully of the group, has learnt to live alongside the maze and it’s biomechanical, spider-like scavengers called ‘grievers’, leading the faction of inhabitants who want to stay put and learn to live within the labyrinth. Sound like Lord of the Flies to you too?

It’s the British supporting cast members that make the film: Poulter, Kaya Scodelario as Teresa, the enigmatic token girl, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, famous for Love Actually and Game of Thrones.

Similarly to cult TV series Lost, the film’s visual effects play well on the mysterious clues leading up to the big showdown – and yet the ending is perhaps the least gripping part of the whole film.

The Maze Runner definitely hits the young adult sci-fi mark. Its premise draws you in and the mystery of the maze is certainly an intriguing one. With strong acting and a solid –if slightly absurd– premise, this approach to dystopia is more refreshing than others and manages to stand out from an ever-growing crowd.

Sarah Nevard