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Bad Genius
2024 96 min Canada 18+
★6.9
Thriller, Drama
Director: J.C. Lee
Trailers
EN
Teaser
Description
A highly-gifted student sees an opportunity to escape her roots by helping wealthy classmates cheat on key exams, but at great risk to her future.
Starring
Callina Liang
Actor
Benedict Wong
Actor
Jabari Banks
Actor
Key opinion
Bad Genius (2024) is a compelling American remake that translates the high-stakes pressure of the original Thai film into an exploration of academic integrity and social mobility. While the film successfully delivers a gripping thriller atmosphere, it is ultimately divided by a narrative shift toward a moralistic and overly optimistic conclusion.
| Acting | Callina Liang delivers a grounded, nuanced performance that captures the protagonist's intellectual brilliance and internal fragility. | |
| Theme | The narrative effectively reframes the classroom as a high-tension thriller space, mirroring the intensity of a heist movie. | |
| Culture | The film explores the stark dichotomy between wealthy, entitled students and impoverished, hard-working scholars, echoing themes of systemic inequality. | |
| Ending | The ending is polarized: some view it as a necessary moral lesson, while others criticize its fairy-tale optimism as detached from the film's otherwise grounded, realistic tone. |