First off, I did not read the book, I have no connection to this movie or any competing movies, I am not in the target audience but I have enjoyed other movies made from YA books (both the Hunger Games and Twilight series-HG I'd rate 7, Twi a 6 to 6.5, just so you know where I'm coming from.)
Not having read the book I don't know if the problem with the story was in the original work or the screenplay but it was awful. Truly bad. The end product feels like a couple of 13 year old girls mined their imaginations, building on one another's narratives until they either figured they had enough, got bored or realized that the whole thing was just too silly to continue.
The story was incredibly uneven. When the characters main goal is achieved it is given less time than the an unimportant story arc. There were too many groups so none got the time needed to create any reason for the viewer to care. Side stories were introduced and dispensed with and served no purpose in movie the story forward.
I don't think I'm giving anything up here to say that this story deals with children. I kept wondering what happens when children age? Are new children born? Why was one of the groups made up of people who would have been under 18 when the "event" happened? Why don't they have powers? Where did these powers come from? All things that the collaboration of 13 year olds at a sleepover forgot to include in their movie.
The acting, for the most part, was acceptable. I'm pretty sure that given a better script I would look more kindly on the performances given. There were a few exceptions that had me cringing, you'll know it when you see it.
The production values were nothing that a college student couldn't come up with. There was one scene that semi-impressed but for a movie based on special powers there was a distinct lack of special effects.
I stopped and restarted this movie five or six times. I almost quit watching but I decided I wanted to write this review and I didn't want to write a review for a movie unless I completed it. So, I disliked this movie so much I had to finish it! I am genuinely perplexed at the 7 thru 10 ratings this movie has gotten. In a database that has Pulp Fiction and The Godfather I & II at 8.1 to 8.7 just who is giving this time waster anything above a 5??
Review of The Darkest Minds
