THE DARKEST MINDS
★★★★★ (12A)
ADAPTED from the first instalment of a trilogy of young adult novels penned by Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds conjures dystopian nightmares that will be achingly familiar to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent series.
A pathogen delivers a fatal blow to 98% of the children’s population and survivors are blessed with potentially deadly powers. US President Gray (Bradley Whitford), orders children to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to rehabilitation camps where they are colourcoded based on their newfound abilities.
Green, Blue and Yellow are permitted to live under armed guard, while Orange and Red are eliminated via lethal injection.
Sixteen-year-old Ruby Daly (Amandla Stenberg) is an Orange but has lived under the radar as Green in one camp, where Dr Cate Connor (Mandy Moore) takes a keen interest in the youngster. The medic risks her life to smuggle Ruby out of the facility to join the fight against the government as part of the Children’s League.