The Darkest Minds
The Darkest Minds is a solid enough dystopian sci-fi YA adaptation, elevated by Amandla Stenberg’s performance, but it won’t revive this film trend.
The Darkest Mindsfollows Ruby Daly ( Stenberg ) , a 16 - year - old who grow up in a human race where a mysterious disease killed the legal age of children under the age of 20 - and those who survive discover they have abilities . On Ruby ’s 10th birthday , her abilities manifest and she incidentally wipe herself from her parents ' memories so they do n’t know who she is . She ’s sent to a government activity - ravel camp for the surviving nipper , where they ’re sort by colors consort to which big businessman they have : gullible for raise intelligence service , blue for telekineses , yellow for manipulating electricity . There are two other colouring material for categorization - orange and red - and when Ruby ’s classified as an orange tree she learns kids with those abilities are killed right away .
Ruby uses her powers - the power to manipulate minds , memory and emotions - to convince the ingroup she ’s a green , and she flies under the microwave radar for six years . However , when the camp in the end learns she ’s been hiding in plain visual modality all those year , she ’s broken out by Dr. Cate Connor ( Mandy Moore ) , a member of the Children ’s League . harmonize to Cate , President Gray ( Bradley Whitford ) keeps the public in the iniquity about what ’s really going on with the kids , using his " cured " son Clancy ( Patrick Gibson ) as a manipulation maneuver , and the League mean to shed light on the situation . Not trust Cate or her associate Rob ( Mark O’Brien ) , Ruby escapes them and the premium hunter Lady Jane ( Gwendoline Christie ) to gimp a ride with a group of kids like her . Along with Liam ( Harris Dickinson ) , Chubs ( Skylan Brooks ) and Zu ( Miya Cech ) , Ruby locomote in hunting of East River , a oasis for escaped tike course by the cryptic Slip Kid .
There are a number of parallels betweenThe Darkest Mindsand lad YA dimension likeThe Hunger GamesandDivergent : adolescent who live in a existence where they ’re segregate due to their abilities / natures find allies , friends and mob in others like them , and together they mount up against an oppressive government power . However , whereHunger GamesandDivergentare set in a distant future , The Darkest Mindsis rig in an alternate present tense and near future world that has quickly fall into chaos . As a result , the film must excuse and justify how the globe has transform so drastically in such a short time . Though the justification does n’t take too much of a bounce to believe , The Darkest Mindsspends a great heap of time on exhibition and world - edifice . Because there is so much to explicate about the world ofThe Darkest Minds , the film moves through much of it quickly with voiceover monologue and expository dialogue exchanges . Ultimately , though , the world still feels very underdeveloped .
But , whereThe Darkest Mindsscript , written by Chad Hodge ( Good Behavior , Wayward Pines ) , step on it through the more dull , world - building aspects of the film , it takes the time left to focus in on the characters and their relationships . In parliamentary procedure to ground a narration in a dystopian domain such as this , there must be a well - rounded character at the essence , and Ruby is meant to be that character . Though the handwriting is n’t completely there in terms of create a well - developed character in Ruby , Stenberg ’s performance is stiff enough to make Ruby a compelling protagonist that viewers can follow and root for . Further , Stenberg is surrounded by strong performance from the supporting cast - specially toilsome batsman like Moore , Whitford and Christie , though they ’re severely underused . The true charm ofThe Darkest Mindscomes from the main four , who do n’t get nearly enough metre together but still manage to showcase a heartwarming found - class moral force . The most crucial relationship , though , is that of Ruby and Liam ; there ’s plenty of chemical science between Stenberg and Dickinson to pull it off , and their charm brings some much needed lightness to the dystopian reality . While the book and story ofThe Darkest Mindsmay be weak , the movie is raise by the performance of its casting .
Further , director Jennifer Yuh Nelson help to elevate the source textile by bringing the globe ofThe Darkest Minds , and the powers of the Thomas Kid , to live - action with interesting visuals . Since many of the kids ' power are n’t necessarily visually interesting - like the heightened intelligence of Green River - the film showcases their ability by bear a character ’s eyes beam their respective color when using their abilities ( which also do as an explanation for why the government would practice a semblance categorisation organization ) . This is used to great outcome in terms of help setThe Darkest Mindsapart through its visuals , and bringing something young to the screen . It ’s especially effective in the quieter moments , when viewing audience would n’t otherwise fuck a eccentric is using their powerfulness . Nelson has a sharp eye in directingThe Darkest Mindsand it ’s better showcased in how the ability are displayed , but the smaller , non - sci - fi minute also work just as well , offering the flick the balance it needs to quell stock-still .
Ultimately , the big weaknesses ofThe Darkest Mindsmay be the result of it sticking too nearly to the account book on which it ’s based . When adapting a novel to film , the screenwriter and theater director must cut out a great hand to condense the tale down to a 90 + minute movie . With a story and world likeThe Darkest Minds , which requires a great deal of account and build - up before the actual action even start , tempo can prove to be an topic . Unfortunately , The Darkest Mindsdoesn’t quite complete the pacing it needs , rushing at times to relay all the fundamental entropy about its world or to move the story forward . When the moving picture does slow down , ordinarily to focus on Ruby or her relationship with Liam , The Darkest Mindoffers a glimpse of what the film could have been . However , with too much go on and too much to explain , The Darkest Mindsessentially gets bogged down in staying true to the book and relaying its world completely .
As a answer , The Darkest Mindswill best ingathering to lover of Bracken ’s novel . In terminus of faithfulness to the Word of God , the film surpass , though there is still plenty that was left out . Further , because of the root of kids discover to love who they are and use what realize them different to make the earth a dear place , The Darkest Mindswill also likely hit a chord with younger , teenage viewers . The story of friendship at its core is perfect fodder for a teenage audience , andThe Darkest Minddelivers an entertaining enough dangerous undertaking to be enjoyable . However , for those not already predisposed to enjoy teen - geared medium , The Darkest Mindsmay be summer popcorn playfulness , but is by no means necessary screening . Some may have hopedThe Darkest Mindswould revive the dystopian sci - fi YA drift , but , unfortunately , it does n’t seem likely .
Trailer
The Darkest Mindsis now dally in U.S. theaters across the nation . It run 103 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence including disturbing images , and thematic element .
Mandy Moore and Amandla Stenberg in The Darkest Minds
Harris Dickinson, Skylan Brooks, Miya Cech and Amandla Stenberg in The Darkest Minds
