The Darkest Minds
20th Century Fox | Release Date: August 3, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
14
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloAug 3, 2018
It’s a promising start, but one that ultimately doesn’t quite deliver. The movie’s plot feels scant, as if it’s only skimming the surface of what it’s like to be a child who has no one to trust or turn to in this world. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJake ColeAug 3, 2018
The Darkest Minds never communicates the overwhelming horror of a society whose children are either dead or in the process of being exterminated, or the hopelessness of kids discovering that every potential benefactor may have ulterior motives. Read full review
38
The Associated PressLindsey BahrAug 1, 2018
The story is not only derivative of so many other dystopias and kids with power sagas, but, and perhaps worst of all, it never even really gets going — a clear and infuriating set up for some future installment. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 3, 2018
A generic and frankly very tedious compendium of YA clichés. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyDana SchwartzAug 2, 2018
There is no resolution for any of the story lines haphazardly dangling like electrical wires. No villain is defeated, no secrets are explained. When the credits roll, there has been no catharsis for the 90 minutes of movie preceding it, which makes it all feel like a protracted introductory sequence for a sequel that, god willing, will never come. Read full review
30
The VergeNoah BerlatskyAug 3, 2018
Instead of building on its most pertinent themes — or on any themes — The Darkest Minds wanders around haplessly in a fog of tired tropes and unmotivated bits of plot. It has neither inspiration nor purpose, and it eventually, almost literally, effervesces into blank irrelevance. Read full review
30
Film Journal InternationalRebecca PahleAug 2, 2018
The Darkest Minds isn’t atrocious so much as it’s just plain dull, which is a worse kind of bad to be. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleAug 2, 2018
In another universe, the juxtaposition of family and tragedy might’ve produced something unique; instead, it feels like a pastiche of borrowed story beats from better movies. Read full review
25
Original-CinJim SlotekAug 2, 2018
It’s hard to imagine The Darkest Minds becoming the franchise it was intended to be. The plot is murky confusing and unengaging, and the entire genre may just be worn out by now. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 1, 2018
It’s a tediously derivative tale. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 2, 2018
The movie is 105 minutes long but seems about 45 minutes longer, with uneventful stretches and at least three sections where the action stops for musical interludes featuring goopy pop music. Read full review
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