Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like The Maze Runner:
The Gorge
The Gorge, Scott Derrickson’s latest film for Apple TV+, is a frustratingly uneven blend of action, sci-fi, and romance that starts with promise but ultimately succumbs to convention. Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy do their best to elevate the material, and their on-screen chemistry carries the movie’s far more compelling first half, but by the time the action-heavy second half kicks in, The Gorge loses much of what made it intriguing to begin with.
Snowpiercer
It’s taken me multiple viewings to fully warm up to Snowpiercer (no pun intended). Bong Joon-ho’s first primarily English-language film is both brilliantly executed as a sci-fi thriller—boasting stunning set pieces and an inspired apocalyptic bullet train setting—and burdened by an overly on-the-nose allegory about class warfare that at times dulls its impact.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes emerges as a nuanced and energetic prelude to the Hunger Games saga. By unraveling the roots of power in Panem, the film injects vitality into a franchise that appeared to be on the decline. Despite pacing issues and a divergence in energy between the two halves, the film stands as a compelling adaptation in the young adult genre, breathing life into a story thought to have concluded.
Read our full review of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Leave the World Behind
Sam Esmail, renowned for his work on Mr. Robot, returns to feature filmmaking with Leave the World Behind, a star-studded drama delivered straight to Netflix that operates as an apocalyptic mystery thriller. Boasting a cast of A-listers like Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and the promising up-and-comer Myha’la, the film carries the weight of its cast’s reputation but, unfortunately, doesn’t quite live up to expectations.
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2049 tries to operate in two separate modes, as a humane and personal drama, and a science fiction epic. While these two styles work in their own separate veins, they cross to make a visually stunning, emotionally hollow movie. Denis Villeneuve directs himself into a corner with this one.
28 Years Later
Few film franchises feel as reflective of their eras as the 28 Days Later franchise. The 2002 original remains one of the most influential horror films of the century, with Danny Boyle’s grainy, handheld style perfectly matching its atmosphere of isolation and dread. Its 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later, wasn’t directed by Boyle or written by Alex Garland, and while it had moments, it left fans with a sense that more could be done with the premise. Now, both Boyle and Garland return for 28 Years Later (2025), a film that feels both like a homecoming and a cautious step toward something bigger.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller finds so much new ground to cover with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga that perfectly justifies its own existence. While Fury Road was interested in such a contained story propelled by larger-than-life action sequences and big rig warfare spawning from a game of cat and mouse, Furiosa fills in the gaps of a world much larger than what is expected. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth stun in a prequel well worth the wait.
Twisters
Twisters is a remarkable victory for theaters, summer blockbusters, and movie stars. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are certified mainstays in the industry after their recent successes, and Lee Isaac Chung remains one of the latest risers in a young camp of talented filmmakers.
Meg 2: The Trench
With a floundering script and painstakingly uninventive cast, Ben Wheatley falls victim to this behemoth shark franchise. Meg 2: The Trench capitalizes on very few aspects that made the first movie an occasionally enjoyable romp.
Borderlands
Maybe this was a doomed project from the start. Video game adaptations are notoriously difficult to pull off, and the idea of a Borderlands movie led by Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart always felt like an odd fit. Their acting styles, combined with Eli Roth’s directorial approach, were never going to align into something cohesive. The result is exactly what I feared—a loud, obnoxious, and utterly forgettable misfire that does little justice to its source material.
