The Maze Runner

The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies in this fast-paced and enjoyably moody teen thriller adapted from the bestselling novel by James Dashner. It's a star-making role for Dylan O'Brien who plays Thomas, the latest in a line of boys to be dumped in a clearing at the centre of a giant maze while suffering from a bad case of amnesia. Within those stone walls lurk monsters, their part-mechanisation hinting at a human-led conspiracy, and it is this well-balanced combination of politics, action and mystery that draws you deeper into the story. Power struggles ensue when our hero announces his intention to run the maze and find a way out, without being elected for the task. Will Poulter is impressive as the naysayer, driven by fear and suspicion, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster is a convincing sage despite his youth. The truths they uncover on the final leg of the journey aren't so gracefully handled by director Wes Ball (paving the way for the sequel) but this is a film with enough twists and turns to keep the momentum building.