Film Review: The Darkest Minds

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Cert: 12A

Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Screenwriter: Chad Hodge (screenplay by), Alexandra Bracken (based upon the novel by)

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Mandy Moore, Bradley Whitford, Gwendoline Christie, Harris Dickinson, Patrick Gibson, Miya Cech, Mark O'Brien, Wallace Langham, Golden Brooks, Wade Williams, Makenzie Collier, Skylan Brooks, Peyton Wich, Catherine Dyer

Running time: 1h 44min

Parents advised reading before viewing the film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.

Sex & Nudity:

• Ruby's shown wrapped only in a towel after a shower.
• And most of her outfits are either low-cut or formfitting.
• She and Liam fall in love and hug each other while slow dancing. They also kiss.
• A teen named Clancy taps into Ruby's memories. When Ruby pulls herself out of the dream-like trance he's induced, she awakens to find Clancy lying on top of her and attempting to fondle and kiss her. (She slaps him and pushes away.)

Violence & Gore:

• Like most similar pseudo-apocalyptic teen actioners, there is plenty of thumping and trigger-pulling violence afoot here.
• The film's vicious and deadly moments are mostly sanitized and bloodless onscreen-though the brutality that's still suggested at times remains quite visceral.
• We see an attempted mass escape in which armed guards mow down scores of teens from behind.
• A small group of Reds spews flames at unarmed teens around them.
• A large military helicopter crashes and erupts into a huge explosion that burns teens and blows several off their feet.
• A friend of Ruby's gets badly burned while saving her from a second explosion; we later see the burn wounds on his back and neck.
• Perhaps even more disturbingly, teens with mind-control powers instruct several people to put guns beneath their own chins and kill themselves (though the mortal wounds inflicted are kept just offscreen).
• Teens also use those abilities to prompt a group of guards to turn and shoot one another.
• Likewise, someone shoots himself at Ruby's command.
• And she instructs another woman to walk into a forest and not to stop-ever. It's implied that she'll walk 'til she dies.
• Teens' powers also rip up a road and uproot large trees.
• Liam and Ruby get snatched up into the air and thumped about by telekinetic kids.
• Various attacks leave some characters, including Ruby and Liam, cut and bloodied.
• One boy is badly bruised after surviving a large explosion.
• Some troubling scenes feature large men grabbing and manhandling teen girls.
• In one such scene, it seems as if a gruff guard's interactions are on the verge of turning forcefully sexual before his attention is drawn away.
• Kids are hit with a subsonic weapon that drives them to their knees in pain and knocks some of them out cold.
• Two vehicles smash together repeatedly during a car chase.
• We see a car plunge over a steep embankment.

Profanity:

• Most of the foul language here-about half a dozen s-words and multiple uses of "a--hole," "d--n" and "h---"-is tossed out by a single character named Chubs.
• We also hear a few uses of "oh my god." 

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking:

• A doctor tries to shove a needle full of poison into Ruby's arm.
• We see a screaming teen being held down by doctors and injected with experimental drugs.

Frightening/Intense Scenes:

• Expected BBFC/UK Rating: 12a for moderate fantasy action violence and language 

Story: After a disease killed 98% of children and young people in the United States, the 2% who managed to survive have developed superpowers, but have been locked in internment camps after being declared a threat. One of those 16-year-old girls, Ruby, manages to escape from her camp and joins a group of teenagers fleeing government forces.

Likes: Ive Never read the books which has four books written by Alexandra Bracken which I would love to read it sometime just to get a feel for this film, reading most of the review it seems that the film is accurate to the book which is good for the film story. I did hear that the main Female character was changed for the film which, to be honest, wasn't the problem the film had.

There are a few things wrong which I can understand why this film did make a lot on the US release as it only made 13 million in the box office, the film cost 35 million to make so it might flop if the film doesn't make at least 90 million by the end of the 4weeks it hit other cinemas across the world.

Story-wise it was not very explained at the begin, but you get an idea of what is happening throughout the film, the special effect is brilliantly done, with the acting pretty solid and good soundtrack that give a wide range of emotions.

The children with power are pretty much explained in a colour code which each power has a different colour, which gives the children some background, but it does not really explain why this is happening.

All in all this film is pretty much average, if im honest it nothing that not been done before but still has potential if it gets a second film, which is more then like won't at this point with the box office takings but it just might make that money if it lucky,


Dislikes: The biggest problem isnt the casting, it's just the way it been written, yes it close to the book like most reviews have said, but the story just takes to long to get anywhere and when things do finally start getting interesting the film over.
This is the reason why it not getting the critics attention, a story needs to be compelling when you doing a drama film like this which sadly this film slightly lacks that impact.

This film feels more like the situation with I am number seven, where we get someone of an ok film, it just not capturing the audience attention or getting the reviews that it need to look good, for this reason alone is why I feel this film is gonna flop.

Overall: Solid acting, good special effects, Lacking the impact it needed, could've been better told.

Rating: 5 out of 5 for Entertainment / 7 out of 10 for the concept