★★★☆☆
Could this be the end of the road for the young adult genre? The Hunger Games are over, as, probably, is the Divergent series, so this final episode in the Maze Runner saga could be the last time for a while that we see teens battling authoritarian baddies in a dystopian future.
If it is a swansong for YA, it’s a solid one. OK, Dylan O’Brien is a less engaging protagonist than Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) or Shailene Woodley (Divergent) and the film suffers from a Lord of the Rings-style excess of endings. However, there are a couple of blistering travel-related set pieces, one involving a train, the other a bus, and the ensemble cast have spunk, especially the two turncoats, played by Kaya Scodelario and Will Poulter. And 20th Century Fox should also be applauded for not splitting the final film into two to make more money, as used to be the rule.
12A, 142min