The Darkest Minds hits most of the key scenes from the novel, yet removes the characters’ and story’s depth. The movie is simultaneously rushed yet dull and tedious.
Based on the novel by Alexandra Bracken, the majority of the children in America succumb to a mysterious disease. The surviving children develop supernatural powers, and the government decides to hold children in camps, believing that they are a threat. Ruby Daly (Amandla Stenberg) escapes from her camp, and goes on the run with a group of teenagers.
The Darkest Minds is not the YA book most fitted as a film adaptation. Most of the book is Ruby and her new friends Liam, Chubs, and Zu on the run moving from campsite to campsite, hiding from bounty hunters. While The Darkest Minds may not be the most exciting Young Adult novel, it is still an interesting narrative filled with wonderful characters.
However, while on the surface The Darkest Minds did not seem fit to be a film, because it is so different from other Young Adult Dystopian series, it could have made a special movie that was unlike any other in this genre. Unfortunately, the film ignores the subtle beauty of the novel, and instead panders to overdone YA tropes, emphasizing the action and the romance.
There is action and romance in the novel, but those are not the most prominent elements of it. The core of The Darkest Minds novel is its characters. The film should have been primarily about Ruby discovering her powers and learning to control them. Instead, she is powerful at the beginning of the film and powerful at the end.
Instead of developing Ruby’s character, the film spends much more time on the romantic subplot between Ruby and Liam. While this is an important part of the book, Ruby’s own development comes first. Further, while this love story is front and center in this film, it is not even compelling in how it is adapted.
The romance between Ruby and Liam feels rushed and forced. The movie does not give it time to grow, and it feels fairly hollow because Liam is a flat character. While the novel focuses on Ruby, it is also about her friendship with Liam, Chubs, and Zu. The film barely gives a glimpse of this, and even practically completely ignores Zu.
There are numerous scenes where Liam gallantly declares that the four of them are a family, but there are barely any scenes that defend this statement. Instead of allowing the four to have character-building conversations, the film favors scenic montages with obnoxious pop music in the background. Just because The Darkest Minds is a dystopian action film, it does not mean that the film cannot have any dialogue.
The action sequences are either dull or cringe-worthy. They are typically resolved very quickly, with few twists and turns to keep the scenes interesting. Also, some CGI later in the film is painful to watch and is a poor implementation of showing the powers of some of the children.
Additionally, characters’ eyes change colors to match their type of power. This works for most of the characters who have visible skills. However, this does not work for characters with the “green” power, powers that cause heightened intelligence. Their eyes turn green whenever they put the slightest amount of mental effort into a situation, realizing answers that do not require superpowers to figure out.
The Darkest Minds seems to be too aware that it is part of the Young Adult genre. It completely infantilizes the subject matter as well as the audience. The film does not seem to trust that teenagers are people too and deserve to be portrayed with depth and complexity. This is especially unfortunate considering that the film Eighth Grade recently proved that movies about young teenagers are just as valid and worthwhile as movies about adults.
Grade: C
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