Firstly, I have to say that I have never read the novel version of The School for Good and Evil before. The following review is my honest reaction as an audience who knows nothing about the background story.
The movie follows the story of Sophie and Agatha, two best friends with contrasting appearances and personalities. Sophie has always wanted to be a princess, while Agatha has been called a witch by the people in her hometown. They somehow unintentionally attend the School for Good and Evil, where each individual is trained to become a hero or a villain of the famous fairytales. Unfortunately, Sophie was sent to the school of evil and Agatha was sent to the school of good. While Sophie tries to prove that she suppose to be the princess, Agatha starts to find that the good side is not really a good person and tries to find the way home. Two best friends start to find out who they really are.
For the casting, the movie decided not to stick with the book's physical descriptions of the characters, many casting choices offer an interesting divergence. However, this causes no effect on the story. Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie deliver impressive performances as Sophie and Agatha, respectively, bringing depth and nuance to their characters' arcs. Including the diverse cast, the movie represented the diverse world we live in today and is appealing to a wide range of viewers.
Each cast performs well in their roles. The only performance that interrupted me during the movie is that the fight scene does not look serious enough, such as the fight scene between Rhian and Rafal in the opening. I think it is because the tone of the movie has more intention to go for the magical theme, so I could not feel the tension of the fighting situation as much as I should have.
What is impressive is that the movie can portray the picture of a fantasy and magical world filled with fairytale characters pretty well as we can find out from elements that are easy to relate with, such as magical creatures, castles, fantasy costumes, or use of magic power, especially the costumes. With the production and special effects, this movie could easily become a favorite for many audiences, both children and adults.
Another important thing to mention is the core concept of the story, the good and the bad. The movie separates two sides of the character obviously by using black to represent the evils and contrasting colorful, elegant colors like the light-shaded color and gold for princesses and princes, the main protagonists of most fairytales. While the evils are harsh, ugly, and aggressive, the goods must be gentle, beautiful, and enchanting. The movie has done pretty well in using psychology along with stereotypical characteristics to get the audience into the story, which could be a good twist when things start to go in the opposite way.
However, I think the plot is kinda cliche and easy to predict. Maybe it was the limitation of time that make the movie looks too rushed to the end. I feel like there are many plotholes and unreasonable points that are left and waiting to be solved, such as why Sophie is sent to the school of evil in the first place. I think the movie could not depict her 'evil' personality enough since I feel like the reason she acted badly is mostly that she was misled by Rafal. Also can be said that the movie allows Rafal to steal the spotlight in the role of evil instead of focusing on Sophie and made him became a bland villain. On the contrary, Agatha's personality is depicted as a very good character, so good that I feel somehow weird. However, she is the character with the most common sense to the point that makes me think other characters are nonsense and she is being bullied and called a witch for no reason. Also, the movie did not give enough time for some conflicts in the story that should be more intense and emotional, the problems are solved easily without reasonable reason for it. Even if I have never read the novel version, I still have mixed feeling about this movie. It is not that bad, but also not that good in the aspect of the plot. I have seen some comments saying that the novel version is much longer and is more understandable than the movie version, it might be better if this novel is made into a series instead of a movie. Anyway, the movie ended like there might be a sequel, so we may have to wait for it.
In conclusion, The School for Good and Evil is one fantasy movie with an impressive fairytale atmosphere, attractive visual effects, and enchanting costumes. You can enjoy this movie if you watch it without taking it seriously.
The movie follows the story of Sophie and Agatha, two best friends with contrasting appearances and personalities. Sophie has always wanted to be a princess, while Agatha has been called a witch by the people in her hometown. They somehow unintentionally attend the School for Good and Evil, where each individual is trained to become a hero or a villain of the famous fairytales. Unfortunately, Sophie was sent to the school of evil and Agatha was sent to the school of good. While Sophie tries to prove that she suppose to be the princess, Agatha starts to find that the good side is not really a good person and tries to find the way home. Two best friends start to find out who they really are.
For the casting, the movie decided not to stick with the book's physical descriptions of the characters, many casting choices offer an interesting divergence. However, this causes no effect on the story. Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie deliver impressive performances as Sophie and Agatha, respectively, bringing depth and nuance to their characters' arcs. Including the diverse cast, the movie represented the diverse world we live in today and is appealing to a wide range of viewers.
Each cast performs well in their roles. The only performance that interrupted me during the movie is that the fight scene does not look serious enough, such as the fight scene between Rhian and Rafal in the opening. I think it is because the tone of the movie has more intention to go for the magical theme, so I could not feel the tension of the fighting situation as much as I should have.
What is impressive is that the movie can portray the picture of a fantasy and magical world filled with fairytale characters pretty well as we can find out from elements that are easy to relate with, such as magical creatures, castles, fantasy costumes, or use of magic power, especially the costumes. With the production and special effects, this movie could easily become a favorite for many audiences, both children and adults.
Another important thing to mention is the core concept of the story, the good and the bad. The movie separates two sides of the character obviously by using black to represent the evils and contrasting colorful, elegant colors like the light-shaded color and gold for princesses and princes, the main protagonists of most fairytales. While the evils are harsh, ugly, and aggressive, the goods must be gentle, beautiful, and enchanting. The movie has done pretty well in using psychology along with stereotypical characteristics to get the audience into the story, which could be a good twist when things start to go in the opposite way.
However, I think the plot is kinda cliche and easy to predict. Maybe it was the limitation of time that make the movie looks too rushed to the end. I feel like there are many plotholes and unreasonable points that are left and waiting to be solved, such as why Sophie is sent to the school of evil in the first place. I think the movie could not depict her 'evil' personality enough since I feel like the reason she acted badly is mostly that she was misled by Rafal. Also can be said that the movie allows Rafal to steal the spotlight in the role of evil instead of focusing on Sophie and made him became a bland villain. On the contrary, Agatha's personality is depicted as a very good character, so good that I feel somehow weird. However, she is the character with the most common sense to the point that makes me think other characters are nonsense and she is being bullied and called a witch for no reason. Also, the movie did not give enough time for some conflicts in the story that should be more intense and emotional, the problems are solved easily without reasonable reason for it. Even if I have never read the novel version, I still have mixed feeling about this movie. It is not that bad, but also not that good in the aspect of the plot. I have seen some comments saying that the novel version is much longer and is more understandable than the movie version, it might be better if this novel is made into a series instead of a movie. Anyway, the movie ended like there might be a sequel, so we may have to wait for it.
In conclusion, The School for Good and Evil is one fantasy movie with an impressive fairytale atmosphere, attractive visual effects, and enchanting costumes. You can enjoy this movie if you watch it without taking it seriously.