Darkest Minds Review 2/5
Millions of children suddenly die and the survivors each gain gifts of shooting electricity from their hands, fire breathing, telekinesis, mind control and intelligence. They are all categorised by colours green, blue, orange and red and they are kept imprisoned in concentration camps. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2, 3) and starring Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) it's based on the first of three novels. Dark Minds doesn't offer anything new to the genre, it's just another young adult sci-fi adaptation similar to films like Divergent, Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. With such an interesting premise it never reaches the levels of those films often feeling like a cheap rip off of the X-Men films.
The acting is wooden, the characters are bland and there is no chemistry between the two leads. The visual effects are okay given the small production budget but the overall film feels rushed. There isn't even a proper music score, it's just peppered with current songs in an attempt to make the scenes feel more dramatic. Also the choice of songs make it feel even more awkward than it is. Just as you think it's going to delve into gripping political territory it quickly turns into a generic love story which feels completely out of place. The dramatic scenes lack any edge and the humour is cringy and forced. The actors do serviceable jobs but they don't give enough conviction to their roles. The film would have benefited from a 15 certificate but the producers opted for a 12A and so whenever someone gets killed the camera cuts away.
Once they escape the prison camp, there isn't a sense of real danger. These characters are supposed to be on the run but they get away with a lot. They can stay at motels, drive around in the same car and go to their old neighbourhoods without being caught by even a single person (This is a world where children are outlaws). Considering there was meant to be numerous bounty hunters they only get confronted by one and she gets defeated very easy. Everything is pretty much handed to these characters for the convenience of the plot - There's a scene where they break into an abandoned shopping mall where there is conveniently enough food and clothes for them all and there is also a radio for them to listen in on frequency.
Even though the plot is about millions of children being kidnapped from their homes, it never shows the adults fighting against the system which was a missed opportunity. They are shown to just go with it being promised that their children will be cured. Whereas in reality we all know how parents would react if their children were taken to concentration camps. If they had shown the effects of this around the world with news broadcasts, derelict schools etc it would have had a more worldly gritty feel. But given the scenario, it's fairly lighthearted with only a few dark moments.
With such an ambitious storyline the production budget should have been at least $80-100 million. It's like the producers knew it was going to be a bomb and so they only invested $32 million into it. They didn't even have enough money left over for advertising that's how poorly made the film is. It's predictable and formulaic and you just know it will end on a cliffhanger leading to another film. It should have been as good as The Hunger Games but it sinks to the same level as The 5th Wave.
Millions of children suddenly die and the survivors each gain gifts of shooting electricity from their hands, fire breathing, telekinesis, mind control and intelligence. They are all categorised by colours green, blue, orange and red and they are kept imprisoned in concentration camps. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2, 3) and starring Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) it's based on the first of three novels. Dark Minds doesn't offer anything new to the genre, it's just another young adult sci-fi adaptation similar to films like Divergent, Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. With such an interesting premise it never reaches the levels of those films often feeling like a cheap rip off of the X-Men films.
The acting is wooden, the characters are bland and there is no chemistry between the two leads. The visual effects are okay given the small production budget but the overall film feels rushed. There isn't even a proper music score, it's just peppered with current songs in an attempt to make the scenes feel more dramatic. Also the choice of songs make it feel even more awkward than it is. Just as you think it's going to delve into gripping political territory it quickly turns into a generic love story which feels completely out of place. The dramatic scenes lack any edge and the humour is cringy and forced. The actors do serviceable jobs but they don't give enough conviction to their roles. The film would have benefited from a 15 certificate but the producers opted for a 12A and so whenever someone gets killed the camera cuts away.
Once they escape the prison camp, there isn't a sense of real danger. These characters are supposed to be on the run but they get away with a lot. They can stay at motels, drive around in the same car and go to their old neighbourhoods without being caught by even a single person (This is a world where children are outlaws). Considering there was meant to be numerous bounty hunters they only get confronted by one and she gets defeated very easy. Everything is pretty much handed to these characters for the convenience of the plot - There's a scene where they break into an abandoned shopping mall where there is conveniently enough food and clothes for them all and there is also a radio for them to listen in on frequency.
Even though the plot is about millions of children being kidnapped from their homes, it never shows the adults fighting against the system which was a missed opportunity. They are shown to just go with it being promised that their children will be cured. Whereas in reality we all know how parents would react if their children were taken to concentration camps. If they had shown the effects of this around the world with news broadcasts, derelict schools etc it would have had a more worldly gritty feel. But given the scenario, it's fairly lighthearted with only a few dark moments.
With such an ambitious storyline the production budget should have been at least $80-100 million. It's like the producers knew it was going to be a bomb and so they only invested $32 million into it. They didn't even have enough money left over for advertising that's how poorly made the film is. It's predictable and formulaic and you just know it will end on a cliffhanger leading to another film. It should have been as good as The Hunger Games but it sinks to the same level as The 5th Wave.