The Darkest Minds

The Darkest Minds is the latest teen sci-fi franchise alike Hunger Games, Divergent, Twilight, The Host etc etc etc and alike the majority of them will never be a fully told story.

It tells the tale of a world where 90% of kids die leaving the remaining ones with a selection of super powers (For some unexplained reason). The government rounds them up and incarcerates them out of fear killing off the more powerful ones.

It follows the tale of one girl who is smuggled out and goes on the run. But who can she trust?

Personally I loved the concept, such potential! Under the circumstances a television series would have made a tremendous amount more sense as I think this is all we're ever going to see from the Darkest Minds universe.

Our leading lady is fantastic, truly stellar performance and it wasn't until late in the film I realised it was Rue from the Hunger Games (2012) all grown up. Alongside her we have the excellent Bradley Whitford, Wade Williams, Mandy Moore and Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie (Though all of them are rather brief).

One thing that struck me was the leading man Harris Dickinson, he just wasn't up to the job in any respect and felt like a weak link throughout. I can't imagine how he got the job and question castings logic with that one.

The main issue with the movie is that it's the same as the rest. What I mean by that is these teen sci-fi types take a concept and then surround it by the usual tropes that are so blatant and so excessive it damages them beyond repair. This made the film cliched beyond words and criminally predictible.

All things considered it could be worse but all the teen sci-fi tropes, the fact this is all we'll get and thus leaving us with an incomplete story and a weak leading man stopped any potential it had dead in its tracks.

Great for what it is and I see the appeal, but this is to the movie industry what pop is to the music industry.

The Good:

Amandla Stenberg

Decent supporting cast

Some very good ideas

Hearts in the right place

The Bad:

Too many tropes

Very cliched

Harris Dickinson

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Hollywood needs to go back to the drawing board on this genre

A world without kids sounds like my kind of place

...now I'm 45 and guess what? From ET and The Gonnies to Harry Potter and Stranger Things I've enjoyed this genre of Sci-Fi/fantasy TV and movies. Nothing warms my heart more than the riteouus innocence of youth vs the cruelty and bitterness of "grown ups". Likely another serial, in the same vein of Hunger Games or Maze Runner but hey, why not? Sure give this a score of 5 if you want then complain it's not original enough or the acting isn't worthy of an Oscar! -or- Like me, smile and be thankful that someone's still making movies like this, movies that remind us of what it's like to be a kid. A kid, who dreams of special powers and a future were we get to be boss for a change! It's far too easy to pour scorn and cynicism here but I don't see you detractors doing any better. It's a solid 9 out of10 for me. Keep up the good work.

The book is probably better. This YA story is derivative and generic, and it manages to telegraph who the baddie is much earlier than it means to. Amandla Stenberg is pretty good as star Ruby (she also played Rue in the Hunger Games), but the movie feels more like a cheapie you'd find on ABC Family Channel.

But overall I enjoyed it! They took some liberties with some casting choices. Never really did introduce Sam at all, which was disappointing. Took some liberties with the storyline, but overall, I think it was worth watching. Plus, I think they can only get better at these movies with the next three in the series!

Have not read the source material (have heard a lot of good things about it though), but did love the idea of the film, have nothing against dystopian books/films and there were watchable actors involved, love Gwendoline Christie in 'Game of Thrones' for example. Will admit about not being sure about seeing it, with not so good word of mouth from friends.

Didn't see any critical reviews before watching, a deliberate decision, and without knowledge of it not being well received critically while seeing a lot of passionate defence. Seeing it for myself with an open mind, there are things wrong with 'The Darkest Minds' and it is not hard to find issues with it. There are also a fair share of good things, certainly did not think it was that bad and is nowhere near close to being one of the worst of the year. For me, 'The Darkest Minds' was a mixed bag and not an easy film to make of.

Beginning with the good things, 'The Darkest Minds' looks great. It is very handsomely and imaginatively designed in setting, is beautifully shot, cohesively edited and the special effects are really quite good. Was also really impressed by the music score, which had such a beautiful grandeur, rousing energy and emotional sweep.

The acting is not bad, above average in fact and very good even in the cases of Harris Dickinson and especially Amandla Stenberg. Their chemistry and performances have genuine heart, as does the whole thing about their gifts. Parts are fun, parts are imaginative and parts are emotional.

However, 'The Darkest Minds' second half does feel on the rushed side, where explanations seemed half-baked and revealed too late when there was little time to go. Parts did feel under-explored and glossed over and the villain was like an afterthought. The dialogue can be very cringe-worthy too and of the characters only the two leads show signs of development, the rest being shallow clichés. Some of the cast are ill-used, Gwendoline Christie being one of the primary ones.

Count me in as another person who found the ending far too abrupt and anti-climactic, another ending this year to be seemingly setting things up for a sequel (like 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom', 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Solo: A Star Wars Story') which is potentially dangerous in case plans for a sequel falls through. Am another person too who found the big plot twist far from a surprise and done in a way that was clunky and obvious.

In summary, could have been better but not that bad. 5/10 Bethany Cox