“The Maze Runner,” based on Josh Dashner’s eponymous book, is an adventure movie full of suspense, following on the heels of “The Hunger Games.” It stars Dylan O’ Brian as the main protagonist Thomas and Kaya Scodelario as Teresa, the only female character throughout the movie, along with Will Poulter as a sheriff-style character. These actors all do a very good job portraying their characters and displaying a real sense of emotion.

With cinematography done by Enrique Chediak, the movie is very well put together, framing the characters’ silhouettes dramatically in many scenes. Every character was convincingly earnest, something which was not possible without a good script. The script makes sure to portray the maze as a utopia at the beginning of the movie, with everyone getting along very well, only to reveal it as a dystopia later on.

The film starts out with the main character, Thomas, being put in the middle of a big maze with other males, not remembering anything about his life. Thomas learns that one male gets put into the maze every month, and his new cohorts, the “glades,” have built the maze into a utopia, where everyone helps out and gives their part. Then he sees the maze runners, males chosen to navigate the maze to find a way out.

While trying to save his friends and fellow glades from the maze, Thomas quickly gets promoted to being a maze runner, to the dismay of Gally, the head glade. This causes the tension that moves the final act of the film along. As the movie progresses, the Glades are involved in some major plot twists which manage to leave the audience on the edge of their seat.

“The Maze Runner” is by no means a perfect movie. The antagonist, Gally, has a conformist attitude that becomes frustrating as the maze runners get closer to finding a way out. Gally’s treatment of Thomas is also unduly harsh: the film exaggerates Gally’s hostility in the book, making him less sympathetic.

However, the movie more than makes up for that in emotion. It reminds you that taking risks in life is not always a bad thing. Another important life lesson is to not be a conformist, as portrayed through Gally, the law enforcer. Though perhaps too intense for a date movie, “The Maze Runner” will entertain and interest all audiences, especially people who have read the book.

“The Maze Runner” is playing in theaters through Nov. 6.