10-year-old Winston’s The Darkest Minds review says the film is derivative of so many other super power kid flicks

The Darkest Minds is yet another young-adult story set in a dystopia where teens are always the heroes and the adults are dumb and insensitive. It rips off Divergent, X-Men and others, while bringing nothing new to the table.

This film takes place in a future where most of the world’s kids die of a disease, but those who survivor get amazing abilities. Children are put in government camps where they are are sorted by their abilities. Ruby (Amandla Stenberg) escapes, and fortunately meets up with other super power kids. Together they try to find a safe haven, while the government chases them.

The Darkest Minds is derivative of the X-Men, and not just because they’re outcast kids with powers. One character is set up to be a mentor like Professor X and another character is like Magneto because he is a powerful kid who wants to strike back against the government. They even have a character give a mental command close to the “Walk and walk till your foot bleeds” order from Silver Fox in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The “Divergent” series separates teens into categories, and so does this movie.

Being unoriginal isn’t the only problem. In the battle royale at the end, the kids have powers and the grownups don’t, but are running around dying instead of fighting back. That’s hugely stupid and not well thought-out. It’s the same problem with why super-powered kids everywhere don’t just break out of the camps, as only a few do.

The film is based on a book in a series written by Alexandra Bracken. The studio seems to want this movie to be a franchise starter, yet from this first movie, it does not deserve a franchise. Oddly enough, this is the live-action debut of director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who made the witty and lovable Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. I would have expected way higher quality. This film is not good and I advise against seeing it.

See how Winston’s The Darkest Minds review compares with other critics on RottenTomatoes.com.

10-year-old Winston’s The Darkest Minds review says the film is derivative of so many other super power kid flicks