History YMMV / TheDarkestMinds

** [[TheDon Gregory Mercer]] is the leader of the international crime syndicate [[TheSyndicate Blue Star]], dealing in crimes such as assassinations and HumanTrafficking. Abducting children around the world, Mercer would have them experimented on to try give them psi powers, resulting in many of them dying. [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulating]] the survivors into being loyal to him, Mercer used them as a wet work team before several of them escaped. Mercer works with Moore to help arrange his terrorist attacks so he have access to more psi children so he sell them as slave soldiers.

** [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Joseph Moore]] is a wealthy businessman running for President of the United States on an anti-psi platform. Arranging terrorist attacks that kill dozens, Moore [[FalseFlagOperation blames these attacks]] on psis to justify his policy on sending them to his "personal training" compound. There the children are abused and treated like animals, and can be sold to Gregory Mercer as slave [[ChildSoldiers soldiers]].

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!!The Books
* CompleteMonster: [[PresidentEvil President Gray]] was in power when the IAAN virus killed most of the children in America. Gray used the ensuing crisis to [[PresidentForLife stay in office indefinitely]] and take control of the country's media. Ordering all surviving children to be locked away in [[JuvenileHell "rehabilitation" camps]], [[AbusiveParent Gray]] had his own son Clancy experimented on. Gray would then create Project Jamboree to have children deemed "red" to be used as slave soldiers. Gray then has a fake assassination attempt on himself to [[FalseFlagOperation justify bombing his opposition]] in Los Angeles, destroying most of the city, all to keep himself in power.

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** [[TheDragon Captain McManus]], the [[PsychoForHire most gleeful]] and involved of Clancy's minions, oversees the facilities, [[WouldHurtAChild murdering all psi children]] deemed dangerous, as well as any who prove problematic. Having a doctor [[CruelAndUnusualDeath painfully murdered]] for [[YouHaveFailedMe misdiagnosing one psi]], [=McManus=] is also responsible for taking in massive shipments of psis tricked by Clancy.

* CompleteMonster: [[PresidentEvil President Gray]] is revealed to be behind all the misery that the Espers children have to endure. When his son, [[BigBad Clancy]], gets a mysterious disease known as IAAN, Gray performs various experiments on him and later uses him as a tool for propaganda so that he could make [[POWCamp concentration camps]] for the Espers. In said camps, most of the children were mistreated with anyone who defies the soldiers being executed. He is also revealed to be the one who came up with the procedure of eliminating "Orange" and "Red" Espers leading to the near extinction of the Orange Espers in the process.

** [[spoiler:Clancy Gray is even worse, having usurped his father to build an army of Espers despite being an Esper himself. He tries to rape Ruby, and when she fights him off he smugly declares that he can just erase her memory of it and try again. He later decides to rewrite her mind into something more docile and agreeable.]]

* CounterpartComparison: Quite a few people have noted the similarities between this film and the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise in terms of their overall premises: people with superpowers are persecuted by non-powered people due to their perceived danger to others.

* CriticalDissonance: The film has received largely negative reviews from critics (19% on Website/RottenTomatoes) for being a [[ClicheStorm derivative]] YA adaptation without much to distinguish itself from the others, but audiences have been much more forgiving (80% on the same site).

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film has made [[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=thedarkestminds.htm twice as much money]] overseas.

* ''Film/TheDarkestMinds'': [[PresidentEvil President Gray]] is revealed to be behind all the misery that the Espers children have to endure. When his son, [[BigBad Clancy]], gets a mysterious disease known as IAAN, Gray performs various experiments on him and later uses him as a tool for propaganda so that he could make [[POWCamp concentration camps]] for the Espers. In said camps, most of the children were mistreated with anyone who defies the soldiers being executed. He is also revealed to be the one who came up with the procedure of eliminating "Orange" and "Red" Espers leading to the near extinction of the Orange Espers in the process.

* SpiritualAdaptation: Quite a few people have noted the similarities between this film and the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise in terms of their overall premises: people with superpowers are persecuted by non-powered people due to their perceived danger to others.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: The biggest criticism of the film, and the reason it holds a 15% rating with critics at Website/RottenTomatoes, is that it is very similar to other YA films, with multiple people saying that it would have been more relevant if it was made five years ago.
-->'''Critics' consensus:''' ''The Darkest Minds'' does little to differentiate itself in a crowded field of YA adaptations, leaving all but the least demanding viewers feeling dystopian déjà vu.
* SpiritualAdaptation: Quite a few people have noted the similarities between this film and the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise in terms of their overall premises: people with superpowers are persecuted by non-powered people due to their perceived danger to others.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: The biggest criticism of the [[Film/TheDarkestMinds film]], and the reason it holds a 22% rating at Rotten Tomatoes is because it is very similar to other similar films, with multiple people saying that it would have been more relevant if it was made five years ago.