THE DARKEST MINDS: Another Nail in the Coffin for the YA Genre

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller, Teen Romance

Produced by: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine

Directed by: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Written by: Chad Hodge

Production Company: 20th Century Fox

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Mandy Moore, Gwendoline Christie, Bradley Whitford, Harris Dickinson, Mark O'Brien, Wallace Langham, Skylan Brooks, Miya Cech   
Runtime: 103 minutes                                           

SYNOPSIS: 

In dystopian America, almost every child in the country is extinct, save for those who have special, superhero-like abilities. Considered a threat to the society, they are sent to an internment camp where they are forced into labor. Each child is separated into different departments, which can be identified by the color of their eyes. For quite some time, people in the camp believe that Ruby Daly (Amandla Stenberg) is a Green, or in other words the most harmless amongst the super-powered kids, when she is actually an Orange in disguise, or in other words the most powerful and volatile of them all. Such revelation brings her closer to danger with the evil guys in the camp while also closer to comfort to a group of teen runaways (Harris Dickinson, Skylan Brooks & Miya Cech) she befriended. 

REVIEW: 

 

Based on the first chapter in a trilogy of books by Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds is another desperate attempt from Hollywood at milking out the last of the gradually-dying young adult genre’s nine lives.  Not ever since the Hunger Games (2012-2015) ended had there been a breakout franchise from the genre. In fact, any franchise. The Maze Runner trilogy (2014-2018) was the rare case, and even that was at best a modest success. Since then, there have been numerous attempts at setting up a young adult cinematic franchise, but due to poor box office returns, poor critical reception and a combination of both, they’ve come few and far between these days. 

The Darkest Minds tries to revitalize the stale formula by mashing up a genre that’s pretty much out these days (young adult) with one that’s totally in (the superhero genre). The story’s portrayal of the four lead super-powered characters as teen outcasts draws some comparisons with the X-Men movies (2000-present), and in some way, its promotional campaign decides to go along with that sentiment. Even its official poster slyly pays tribute to (spoiler alert) Thanos’ snap-of-the-finger ending in another superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War (2018), with the image of Amandla Stenberg fading away into dust. 

Beyond the superhero movie influence, it also takes an interesting direction with the casting, directorial and thematic choices. Firstly, it features an African American female actress (Amandla Stenberg) in a lead role, as well as an Asian American woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson) in the directorial seat, a landmark achievement in accordance to Hollywood’s incessant campaign for diversity in the film industry. Secondly, it uses the superhero tropes, pick them apart and ground them to help craft a story through a mishmash of deep, timely ideas.  At times, it tries to go for dramatic depth with the four lead characters’ (Ruby, Liam Stewart, Chubs & Zu) search for family and home. In some other times, it tries to go for social commentary with its criticism on today’s mass hysteria culture and its role in mankind’s dehumanization. To this end, the film effectively conveys this aspect through a flashback sequence of the camp’s guards mowing the kids down mercilessly with their guns as they try to escape that’s harrowing and tragic through its minimal use of dialogues or voiceovers and emphasis on imagery. To add more weight onto things, it tries to go for political depth with the clash between freedom and order, metaphorically represented through the story’s superhero v. government conflict. The lack of fanfare aside, The Darkest Minds has the potential to punch above the YA’s weight through these intriguing ideas. 

Unfortunately, all The Darkest Minds did with these ideas was to set them up and never bother to fully explore them for the rest of the movie. And the blame lies on the story’s focus. There are two kinds of young adult adaptations. There is the grittier, action-packed style of the Hunger Games era, and there is the more melodramatic, teen romance style of the Twilight era (2008-2012). Somehow, the filmmakers think that the latter’s direction is the most effective way to deliver these thought-provoking ideas, and as a result, The Darkest Minds just becomes less interesting. It is difficult to understand the politics of this universe when the superhero v. government aspect of the story is nothing more than expository moments that goes nowhere beyond the first act. There is barely any family dynamics between the four teenagers on display when two of its members Chubs (Skylan Brooks) and Zu (Miya Cech) are restricted to being sideshow characters. 

In fact, the meat of the story is the teenage romantic relationship between Ruby and Liam Stewart (Harris Dickinson). Everything after the more political first act is cut together like a chick literature fan’s wet dream, filled with swoony montages of two good-looking teenagers staring at each other awkwardly, speaking in soap opera language, slow-dancing and smooching, over and over again. Supported by an original score that resembles a Spotify playlist of the Top 40 electro-pop hits in 2018, this is the closest a theatrical release can get to a CW production. Take away the superhero elements, and this could have been a Riverdale episode. It’s not wrong to try to humanize these two super-powered characters through romance, and that is clearly the filmmakers’ intent, but it also comes at the expense of the film lacking some momentum, creating an impression that nothing happens.  

Even when there are any superhero moments, they just come off as the filler-type, its reason there being studio-driven rather than plot-driven. To make matters worse, they are handled pretty poorly by cinematic standard. Jennifer Yuh Nelson is renowned for her animated work in the Kung Fu Panda movies, and The Darkest Minds serves as her live-action directorial debut. Yet, it is apparent that she struggles with meshing special effects with live-action environment in a convincing manner. There is a chase sequence here that seems like she wants to make a blockbuster set-piece without the appropriate budget. But she does it anyway, resulting in a series of cartoonishly bad CGI shoved down the real world setting’s throat. Every time the super powered kids unleash their powers, making cracks, creating fire, these supposed epic moments become darn laughable. 

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of The Darkest Minds is its concern on setting up a franchise rather than crafting a cohesive narrative. Some of the book’s fans might say that the film is meant to be a cliffhanger, but in reality, the final cut comes off more like an unfinished film. It is as if the filmmakers want to force in a jumble of ideas as soon as possible, but they never really pay attention on how to integrate them smoothly into a three-act structure. In fact, this film barely has three acts. It surely has a beginning, but everything else beyond that is just a big middle. There is the climactic superhero sequence somewhere that is supposed to be the curtain raiser moment, but that does nothing to tie up some loose ends. There are some characters here who are set up in a way that they are going to be a significant player in the plot, only to end up being either irrelevant to it or being there just to get the main characters to a certain point before disappearing for quite literally the entire film.  Maybe, these characters will have an expanded role in the sequels, but, due to the poor box office performance, embarrassingly, it seems like these characters and the film’s adventure on the big screen are over before it started. 

Hunger Games graduate Amandla Stenberg once again proves her worth as a leading actress here playing the teen outcast Ruby Daly. She sells the teenager aspect of the character well with earnest, relatable charm. She’s been through a great deal of tragedy, losing a home, abandoned by her family, abused by the guards in the internment camp, and it is hard not to sympathize with her every time she hits emotional rock bottom. If there is any issue with her performance, or maybe the screenplay, it is the fact that she rarely hits rock bottom as a person with super powers. For a person who struggles with controlling her super powers, Ruby is very much in control of herself. Perhaps somewhere in the cutting room floor is a scene that can make sense on how Ruby can finally control her powers, but in the final cut, without any explanation, she can just will herself in and out of her powers. And what makes the character less relatable is her being overpowered. She barely has to break a sweat for the duration of the film. She’s like the odd mix of Jean Grey, Rogue and Thanos, in her ability to manipulate a person’s mind through the touch of her skin as well as erasing them out of existence. Who needs thirty or so Avengers when you have Ruby Daly, an everyday teenager with essentially Thanos’ strengths? 

Harris Dickinson here plays Stenberg’s love interest Liam Stewart, who is the leader of the teen runaways Ruby encounters during her journey and eventually falls in love with. Liam serves as the big brother figure of this little family of runaways, the person everyone looks up to and respect, and the least film can do is make us understand what makes him an example amongst his peers. One flashback sequence aside, he is nothing more than an Edward Cullen clone, a dry, stiff figure fed with wooden dialogues. He is essentially the Harlequin novel poster boy whose function in the story is to moon over the girl (Ruby).  Even its main selling point, the romantic chemistry between the two, lacks any sorts of spark. There are a few good bits of dialogues, romantic moments and fun Harry Potter references thrown here and there, but for most parts, the chemistry just does not work. Since the whole film revolves around their chemistry, the whole film eventually does not work.  

Let’s not forget that there are high-profile names in the likes of Bradley Whitford, Mandy Moore and Gwendoline Christie in supporting roles. Yet, they virtually have nothing to do in the film. Whitford plays the dystopian society’s president, a man who has to struggle trying to calm the country amidst the pandemic while also dealing with his super powered son whose affected by the aforementioned phenomenon, but here, he just shows up for contractual reasons in the opening sequence and is hardly mentioned ever again throughout. Moore plays the camp’s doctor Cate Connor who is trying to help Ruby, and her function to the story is nothing more than a convoluted way to get the main character Ruby to their first encounter with the teen runaways. Christie plays an assassin Lady Jane, tasked with hunting down the runaways, and yet, mirroring her stint as Captain Phasma in the Star Wars movies (2015-2017), her talent is under-utilized here. She is introduced in the most bad-ass way, Fast and Furious style, driving in high speed, with a futuristic gun held out of her rolled down window, chasing after the runaways. Beyond that, after one scene, she just disappears, completely to the point that feels like she was never in the film. 

CONCLUSION: 

The Darkest Minds squanders its deep thematic potential and Amandla Stenberg’s respectable performance for a dull, uneventful Twilight retread that lacks spark, cohesion and basically, anything of interest, further hammering a nail in the coffin for the YA genre. 

Score: 3.5/10.