The Darkest Minds

This review may contain spoilers!

The young adult dystopian films died out a couple of years back now, the creators of this feature clearly didn't get the memo. I would give The Darkest Minds a 1/10.

This is a film that starts strong; we're treated to a horrible opening in which young children are dying of sickness and the need for a quarantined, military state arises within the United States. This brutal setting is fairly interesting and you want to see how the main protagonist is going to navigate such a warped reality at first. The special effects are also nothing to scoff at, making some of the key action scenes stand out through the use of vivid eye effects or the design of the 'Reds'.

Bradley Whitford, who played President Gray, makes quite the impression for only having two scenes; Whitford delivers a passionate speech that connects on a very human level and is a significant element for the strong opening. Miya Cech, who played Zu, is really the heart of the film in a lot of ways; without any dialogue, Cech uses her incredible facial expressions and body language to convey a young child on the run.

However, the best performance came from Skylan Brooks, who played Chubs. If Miya Cech is the proverbial heart of the film then Skylan Brooks is the soul; anything character-driven that interests the audience will often stem from this performance. In many ways, Brooks carries a lot of this film to the end. Chubs is a very particular character, one who doesn't trust easily and who is extremely observant. Brooks has a very grounded manner and responds to situations in quite a realistic manner, making this a role that is very easy to engage with. Not to mention it's just plain nice to have a role with a sense of humour, one who can genuinely make you laugh in amongst the bog of bad dialogue.

A few years ago I was watching films that had been adapted from young adult dystopian novels begin to worsen as a genre; the Divergent films never found their feet after the first one and The 5th Wave was an absolute nightmare. The genre seemed dead. Then someone decided to make this mess of a film and it was hard to believe something worse than what had come before had come to pass. This feature sets up a horrid setting then spends most of the time avoiding it or making it cheesier through corny antagonists. At every turn there was a need to force out exposition and tell the audience member every little detail; so there were no surprises in store and it wasn't long until one grew bored. I struggled with the main protagonist's conflict; early in the film she erases herself from her parents' memories, rather poorly explained away as a 'defence mechanism'. What then transpires is a story in which a girl is cut off from her parents and attempts to get back to them, yet it's all glaringly convenient and hard to empathise with. Undoubtedly the worst aspect of the film is just how much it dedicates itself to a bland romance between two protagonists who have very little chemistry with one another; the fact this develops into a poorly written triangle in the third act is a serious flaw and doesn't do anything to spice up the weak narrative. The cinematography is very poor for an action-oriented film like this; the epic moments look constructed and any of the moments in between are very lazily framed. The score for this film is quite a generic blockbuster fanfare, while the soundtrack doesn't provide this film with character either; opting instead to provide a selection of the latest pop songs or up and coming musicians.

Amandla Stenberg, who played Ruby, doesn't make for a strong leading protagonist; she fails to show an emotional range and the inner conflict she faces isn't presented well throughout the feature. Mandy Moore and Mark O'Brien, who played Cate and Rob Meadows respectively, are very poorly placed minor roles that fade in and out of this story at an inconsistent rate; Moore, in particular, is hard to watch, delivering a spew of exposition in almost every scene. Harris Dickinson, who played Liam, has the acting talent of a brick; not only does Dickinson have no chemistry with Stenberg but he comes across as uncomfortably awkward and creepy. Gwendoline Christie, who played Lady Jane, is just one of those over the top nonsensical antagonists that always seem to find their way into these young adult films; Christie has done better than this but has seen some terrible roles come her way lately. Patrick Gibson, who played Clancy Gray, practically relies on his character introduction, turning point and development all happening in the final act; this is a rushed performance one that Gibson doesn't manage successfully. Wade Williams, who played The Captain, is quite a generic military antagonist; he plays quite safely to a stereotype and never finds a way to make his role feel unique. Lidya Jewett, who played Young Ruby, is one of those child actors who is restricted by the range of their ability at a young age; Jewett is incredibly obvious in how she plays her role and this is very much a two-dimensional introduction to the leading role. Carson Holmes, who played Leader Kid, is a very cringe-worthy character that is introduced near the end of the second act; Holmes doesn't fit the tough role he is given to play and feels seriously miscast the entire time.