The School for Good and Evil (2022) User Reviews

This should have been a TV series

[liammarklh · 6/10 · 21 October 2022]

Ever since I saw the teaser trailer for this movie, my inner book fan was squealing with joy. I've been waiting for this series to get adapted for the longest time. I was excited to see what they were going to do with this series and how they could improve upon it or highlight what made it so good.

This review will address both the good and the bad, but don't let the six-rating fool you, this movie is very campy and stylish, which might seem good to some, but others might seem like generic fantasy fluff.

For the positives, the set design was breathtaking, and the backgrounds were scenic and colorful, the schools each fit the aesthetics perfectly, the good school was gold with whites and pastels while the evil school was gothic, gritty and dark with lots of black colors, something akin to Harry Potter. The costumers deserve a raise because they made the prettiest outfits ever, aside from a few, they were gorgeous.

As usual with a star-studded cast, the A-listers were great in their roles, but the main focus were on the two Sophias and they were really good in their roles, especially Sofia Wyles as Agatha. Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron were the show stealers, and their pedigree shows. Shoutout to Michelle Yeoh as well, her scene where she snapped was cathartic. While the rest of the cast feels bloated, they did the best with what they could.

The negatives are why this film didn't get a high rating from me. Firstly, whoever edited this movie needs to go back to film school, because it was choppy, chaotic and badly shot. I had a hard time focusing on certain scenes, especially the action ones, and it was just a painful viewing experience because of how zoomed in things were.

While I praise the acting, the characters relationships aside from Sophie and Agatha's, were forced and had little to no development. This goes hand in hand with the bad editing and rushed pacing. Sophie's friendship with the other Never girls was done and dusted in under five minutes, they initially hate each other, but then after a makeover and truce suddenly they're besties, huh??? Hort is also a simp for Sophie which is in the books, but the way he's written just makes him come off creepy and desperate, which I guess fits but is kind of off putting.

Agatha's character doesn't feel like she progresses, if anything she stagnates. She doesn't necessarily grow as a person, but instead she stays the way she is, which kind of fits the story's theme, but it felt like her character was stuck on repeat with not much nuance other than being the "mom friend" who knows what's best for others, she's rarely wrong and the pure princess thing feels like an excuse for why her character barely feels fleshed out, but I guess that's what the sequel is for. Also, she rarely uses her magic and just stands around yelling at people to stop the violence, that's basically her character in a nutshell, half the time she feels underutilized and just there, but her actress made some of it work.

Sophie is the worst offender in this cast. In the books, sure she was whiny and bratty, but there was a gradual shift from book to book where it would show her change of character from wannabe princess to embracing her evil side, say what you want about the books, but here it was sloppily handled.

One minute she wants to speak to the manager about being in the wrong school, next she tries embracing her villainous side, then immediately gets teary eyed over a letter Agatha sent, she treats people like garbage and insists she's not evil, then she signs a blood magic pact with an evil guy in a mirror and then once a boy walks into the picture, suddenly she loses all common sense, and her agency goes out the window. She had her good moments, but it was undercut by the horrendous editing and rushed story pacing.

Speaking of rushed pacing, for a movie that is over two and a half hours long, it seemed in quite a hurry to be finish because they tried cramming in so much at once that it was just annoying. It started off great giving us a history lesson about the brothers, then cutting to the two main girls but after they're in the school, it's like the filmmakers gave up halfway, rushed the project, broke it into pieces, cobbled it back together at the halfway point and then Netflix streamed it.

This not only hurt the story which seemed to jump from plot point to plot point and also ruining the future sequel's development, but it hurt the characters too as I mentioned. Again, how did Sophie rally so many villains to join her side so quickly when they initially thought she was a brat and didn't like her. Her villain transformation is literally cut like a bad TikTok video with Billie Eilish music added on to sink it in. I just need to say it, because I'm so sick and tired of hearing "you should see me in a crown" in every single YA related adaptation or any story with a villainous character moment, please make something original or choose a different song, I know this series is for young adults, but please there are other pop artists out there than Eilish, please pick someone else.

Also, small nitpick, the music should have been fantastical or if you want pop music, do classical compositions or covers like in Bridgerton. Hearing techno or modern music in a fantasy setting was jarring and not anachronistic like how Shrek does it, there it served a purpose.

Also wasting Cate Blanchett for a simple voice role didn't do her justice, she deserved to be in a better role than just being a floating pen. This may be based off a book and its meta for a pen to narrate the story, but can we drop narration in general when it comes to movies, video games or tv shows. We can infer what's going to happen on screen without someone telling us outright what's going to happen, it feels patronizing if anything. A book can get away with this, since the writing needs to do the heavy lifting and describe everything to you, with a movie you can cut that out, but that's just me.

Lastly, if the sequel bait is going to follow the second book, then I hope it's done better because that material is going to be a wild can of worms.

Anyway, that's my review, I enjoyed how campy and stylish it was and it did appease the inner book fan in me, but if you're expecting the big budget to justify some of the weird choices made here, then you're looking in the wrong place.

My point is this show should have been a tv series. It overcorrected a lot of things from the books, and I felt that if it were a tv show, you could have explored these relationships and story beats better than what we got here.

It was okay, a lot of lost potential

[carlagsanchezperez · 5/10 · 19 October 2022]

This movie had a lot of potential. The story is original, and the costumes and cast are amazing. I really think it could of been a great movie if it wasn't so rushed/speedran. Its rush to crunch as many things as possible genuinely ruined the movie and its characters.

Honestly the beginning was great, not to fast, not to slow. It was when Sophie did her "cool villain" walk that everything went downhill. I never thought I would cringe so much over a walk. What the actual heck was that.

Anyways that is not my point.

Many important characters like Tedros barely had screen time. His romantic relationship with Agatha felt forced. Most of the characters personalities and depth were pushed aside to be able to make things faster. Not to mention important character arcs. Like where is Agatha's whole overcoming insecurities arc?

In general I think they missed a lot of opportunities to add depth and scenes between characters that would help have the audience connect and relate to them like in the books and make the story more interesting.

Guilty Pleasure Movie for Teenagers

[nadyaknops · 7/10 · 19 October 2022]

I never read the books so I can't tell how accurate the adaption is. This Netflix production is definitely not the best but also not the worst fantasy movie. It's like a typical Nickelodeon/Disney channel production (with better effects and costumes) in my feeling and I think it will find it's audience.

I was entertained by it and I guess it's fine for watching one time. It has a nice cast and costumes. The CGI could have been better but is fine compared to other movies on Disney channel level.

The story and the characters are pretty mediocre and for my taste, they are relying too hard on clichés. On the other hand I think that some people will love it especially for this. It definitely falls into the category guilty pleasure.

So if you don't expect much and like cheesy fantasy movies for children/teenager, this movie could be something for you.

If you are not the target audience or don't like these kind of movies, stay away from it. You can't compare it to movies like Harry Potter, Panem and Maze Runner. But to be fair, I don't think that the movie ever intended to be compared with them.

Doesn't stray far from the YA fantasy mold, but it does have fun with it

[IonicBreezeMachine · 7/10 · 19 October 2022]

Lifelong friends Agatha (Sofia Wylie) and Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) have been lifelong friends in their village of Gavaldon with Sophie Agatha's only friend due to unfounded rumors of Agatha and her mother being a witch. Sophie dreams of being a princess like in the fairy tale stories she's obsessed with, and after learning of the School for Good and Evil which trains the heroes and villains of the various stories that inspire mankind Sophie wishes to be enrolled in the school. Sophie initially plans to leave Gavaldon due to tensions with her family but is confronted by Agatha who tries to convince her otherwise. The two are pulled into the forest by a specter and taken by a bird to the School for Good and Evil but Agatha is dropped on the "good" side while Sophie is dropped on the "evil" against her protests she's actually good. Agatha reluctantly goes under the tutilidge of the Good school's dean Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington) while Sophie likewise is taught by Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron). Both Agatha and Sophie ask the School Master (Laurence Fishburne) to correct the mistake, but he says it's out of his power and only "true love's kiss" is powerful enough to change anything. Meanwhile, Agatha sees the spectre of the supposedly long dead brother of the School Master, Rafal (Kit Young), who has insidious plans involving Sophie. As Sophie and Agatha work their way through the school, divisions form between them with their mutual affections over Tedros (Jamie Flatters) the son of King Arthur.

The School for Good and Evil is an adaptation of the 2013 fairytale fantasy novel of the same name by author Soman Chainani which became the first in a series of the same name which at the time of this writing now consists of six books forming two trilogies (The School Years and Camelot Years). Plans for a film adaptation of the books began in 2011 a full two years before the first book saw publication but it wasn't until publication of the first book that Joe Roth of Roth Films acquired the film rights with the intention of making the film a tentpole YA fantasy franchise as Roth had experienced success with Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz the Great and Powerful, and especially Maleficent and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland all falling under that same extravagant family orientated fantasy fare that was quite popular in the early 2010s. The film languished in development hell despite Universal Pictures winning an auction for the rights with a seven-figure deal, with the box office underperformance of The Huntsman: Winter's War and Alice Through the Looking Glass also not helping the film's prospects. Eventually the rights landed at Netflix with a new creative team with the streamer interested in investing in new YA IPs to compete against the legacy brands of Wizarding World and Hunger Games. Comedy director Paul Feig was initially hesitant as he had no experience directing big budget fantasy films (Ghostbusters 2016 notwithstanding) but changed his mind after reading the script. Now after a 10+ year journey to watchable product, was it worth the wait? The movie does have the feel of something that should've come out about 10 years ago, but I will say that Paul Feig and David Magee do have fun with the formula.

The School for Good and Evil's biggest battle in terms of winning its audience will undeniably be in the sense of "deja view" as The School for Good and Evil does feel like a remix of various movies you've seen from blockbusters past, down to films like the two Maleficent and Alice films released by Disney that share producer Joe Roth of this film. There's also the more obvious comparison to be made with the Wizarding World/Harry Potter franchise with the setting of a magical school/academy. With that said that doesn't make the film bad, just familiar and the movie does at least seem aware of this aspect so it never takes itself overly seriously and allows for some decent humor in its approach to this well worn material. Much like other modern fantasy films based around fairy tale themes and iconography, The School for Good and Evil is very much a deconstruction of those themes and filters them through the lens of our times by making the story about polarization and "othering" and while that is a well-worn approach, I felt they did enough to make it engaging that I was never bored or thinking the film should "move on".

In terms of the acting, I think the actors do a good job of making the material engaging. Sofia Wylie does quite well in the role of Agatha and she does a good job of endearing us to her as a protagonist especially with her more reserved and down to earth personality contrasted against the extravagance of the Good School which leads to some humorous moments with her annoyance at various facets of the Good School's culture. Sophia Anne Caruso does okay in the role of Sophie but I think there's something about the way this character is written that doesn't make it feel quite as natural a fit as with Sofia and Agatha so I always felt Sophie's characterization was a little "off" in some way, I'm not quite sure how it could've been improved and given the nature of the character it's a challenging role to write and especially act but I don't think it quite sticks the landing in terms of performance. The movie also boasts a solid supporting cast with Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Kerry Washington, and Charlize Theron making up the various staff of the Schools and they're very entertaining in their performances. Kerry Washington in particular has a lot of fun playing a kind of tightly wound Fairy Godmother archetype and while Charlize Theron does recycle a little of her performance as Queen Ravenna from Snow White and the Huntsman, she's still very entertaining playing a character who loves evil and her scenes with Washington show some great comic friction. I also rather enjoyed Earl Cave's performance as Hort, the son of Captain Hook, and his performance and energy reminded me of the late great Rik Mayall. On a visual level the film looks very beautifully and handsomely produced with Academy Award nominated production designer of Gravity and Captain Marvel Andy Nicholson producing some beautifully decorated sets that are lovingly crafted. While the movie uses a ton of CGI as per the standard of this genre, Feig opted to use as much make-up and animatronics as possible so the movie manages to sidestep the "rubbery" sheen look of some of these films fall into. I particularly liked the design of the wolf/human guards who supposedly were (in part anyway) animatronic.

The School for Good and Evil falls in line with similar YA fantasy fare, but it's well made and doesn't play itself too seriously and has fun with its world and performances. It's pretty obvious that Netflix wants this to be a franchise (down to an ending stinger) and given the series of books and production commitment it probably will be. I can't speak to its faithfulness to the source material as I've not read the books, but if you have a soft spot for things like The 10th Kingdom or the Maleficent movies you'll probably enjoy this.

cringe fest

[casualviewer-92163 · 1/10 · 24 October 2022]

This was bad. To everyone rating this an 8 or higher - you all have been watching too many bad films to even think this was good. I dont know where to begin. I know the two lead characters were supposed to be special but they were just not. I can list down what i think made this movie cringy that i sometimes found myself physically flinching

• Charlize, Kerrie, and Laurence being in this film. Why?

• Sophie's beach blonde hair and black eyebrows. Seriously? There was no naturally blonde actress to portray this character?

• Sophie's 'transformation' into a vicious villan - The movie tried to make her intimidating but she's so tiny and awkward it was painful to watch her strut her stuff when you can barely see her
• Rafal kissing Sophie. OMG just No. Major cringe.

• Agatha falling for the superficial Tedros because he was good looking. There was zero character development to convince me that she would fall for him.

• The fight scene with the song Toxic in the background. I wanted to tear my ears and eyes off my face
• Nevers turning into Evers and liking it. It didnt make any sense.

• True friendship's kiss ... my a**

This movie was predictable, a cliche, a compete miscast, and totally awful. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.

It's fine for what it is

[fullerjoh · 6/10 · 24 October 2022]

Some of these reviews apparently expected this to be a mix of The Godfather and Avengers: Infinity War. Look, it's fine. If you're walking into this looking for some Oscar-worthy performances, you should just turn around. It's a YA interpretation on film. That's it.

There's some cute stuff. Some fun stuff. Some cringe stuff. Which pretty much is everything YA anyway. The biggest fault is the run time. Two and a half hours is a lot to commit to this. But to its credit, it doesn't really drag.

I do agree with one reviewer that it may have been better off as a show than a lengthy movie. But let's just take this for what it is - a studio filler movie for some actors and producers to honor their contracts. Once you get that in your mind, it's easy to enjoy this movie.

I'd give this a 6.5 if it was an option, but it's not, and I'm not going to round up.

Sadly missed a few marks for good storytelling. The Actors did their best

[craftydwarf · 5/10 · 29 October 2022]

Sophia Anne Caruso as Sophie & Sofia Wylie as Agatha did an excellent job in their roles as they were written.

This film did not lack acting talent. Where it went a miss is either a weakly written two dimensional flat script or bad directing in the ability to visually move a story plot along at the right pace.

The story premise was interesting and the set designs were done with excellent attention to details.(Although a bit of a Harry Potterish look in some places.)

All in all its worth a look. Don't expect a real gold coin and just enjoy the chocolate under the gold foil.

Oh and if you cast Rachel Bloom in something and just have as part of the set it should be considered a crime and you should be punished. This lost you a star off the rating.

A Low score for this movie is hilarious.

[jeetacsocial · 8/10 · 21 October 2022]

Let me start by saying that I've never read the book. I just found this movie in Netflix and gave it a go.

People reviewing this movie 2/10, 4/10 are not typical viewers they act as if they are selecting movies for oscar.

This is a solid 7.5/10 if you want to grab a pizza and enjoy a really good movie with magic which will make you smile at the end.

If you're looking for a movie which will make your heart transform and think about it for days to come then this is not the movie for you.

This movie has Friendship, Love, Comedy, Magic, Action and a good story. Like seriously, What more do you need?

Unbearably Horrible !

[alisalekh · 25 October 2022]

That 2:30mins of my life I will never get back. I don't even know where to start, there wasn't a SINGLE good thing about the movie (if you can even call it that) . Putting famous actors in it didn't even help, if anything it made it worse because we were watching people we KNOW to be good at their work get turned into a joke with movies like this. You money Hungry producers don't even know how to make movies anymore. The plot was extremely rushed, there was NO character building, NO EXPLAINATIONS to Anything. Cheesiest, most predictable "Plot Twist" ever, not ONE likable character, Trash film .

Mediocre adaptation of the book

[djberman-20546 · 6/10 · 19 October 2022]

I enjoyed watching this movie and it was good overall. The scenery was beautiful,despite some lacking CGI like in the case of the wolf heads. I read this series of books about 6-7 years ago so I don't exactly remember the plot/essence of those, so I can't comment on the accuracy of this adaptation. The acting, especially on the part of sophie anne caruso, was pretty poorly done. To be fair, the writing did not do her character any justice either but the acting made the character overall bad. I thought sofia wylie did an excellent job, as well as charlize theron, kerry washington, and Michelle yeoh. The character of tedros was also poorly written and acted, and honestly the relationship betweeen tedros and sophie was not written or developed well in the movie. Overall this movie was just average, not terrible or anything, but I will not be rewatching ever. If the story is interesting to you, I would recommend reading the book series, as the author has quite a few other books in this series written.

The worst movie I have ever seen ... I loved it

[kathyceulemans · 2/10 · 19 October 2022]

This movie brings terrible to a new level, a level that no one ever dared to image. If you like watching bad movies, this is the crème de la crème. Watch it with your snarkiest friends, have a good time making fun of it, because that is what this film is perfect for.

The CGI is awful, dialogue is cringy and predictable, the story is all over the place. It seems they just kept making things up as they went along, and in the end fabricated an explanation for all the nonsense that is this movie. I am having a hard time finding words to accurately describe how bad this movie is. I just keep wondering how on earth they got Cate Blanchett to agree to be a part of this.

However, it was never boring, and I had fun while watching it, so I am still giving it two stars.

Can't wait for the sequel!

An unexpectedly good film

[raven-11881 · 8/10 · 21 October 2022]

After an esteemed user of an esteemed community immediately threw in the towel, I had my doubts about the film. When I saw that the running time was 148 minutes, I was even more skeptical. Would I be able to sit through it? But I got curious and just started the movie, even though I actually wanted to go to bed. Well, what can I say? I easily made it to the end and in the end I didn't even think the movie was that long. Just now, as I was writing these lines here, I read the fresh review from my favorite movie site and was horrified.... by myself. Can it be that I like such a cheesy movie with partly bad effects? Am I abnormal? Even the ratings on IMDB say it's a bad movie. Well, I see it a bit different. But let's start from the beginning.

Yes, "The School for Good and Evil" is tremendously cheesy and full of clichés. Yes, the film is perhaps a touch too unserious. Yes, the film steals mercilessly from well-known films of the genre, especially a lot from Harry Potter. Yes, the supporting characters are superficial and sometimes annoying. Yes, the effects are sometimes bad and cheap. And yet ... I really like the movie. Now I'm sure everyone thinks I'm crazy. First I write how bad everything is and then I say that I like it. But ... why? The answer is short, concise and banal: Emotions and feelings!

Yes, I shouldn't really like the film because of the bad aspects. But who knows me, knows: Emotions and feelings are in films and series for me sometimes the most important. Yes, but where do these emotions come from? Are they hiding between all the kitsch, the stolen and the superficial and the bad effects? The answer is: No. They are not hiding at all. The emotions come straight from the center of the film: the two main actresses and their characters.

Sofia Wylie embodies Agatha, a brash but also deeply human and sympathetic teenage girl. She brings across Agatha's feelings and emotions in such a wonderful way that Agatha immediately grows on me. Cliché or not, I like her a lot and it carries me through half the film.

The same goes for Sophia Anne Caruso, who embodies Sophie. She is a sweet and kind girl who has the courage to stand up for her best friend Agatha and defend her. The friendship between Agatha and Sophie is strong and convincing. Sophie, however, wants to get away from the place where they live. She doesn't feel comfortable there, where everyone else despises her and Agatha and has only scorn and ridicule for them. So she is drawn into the magical world of the school of good and evil. Agatha, however, does not want to lose her and let her go, so she is pulled into this world with her. Agatha ends up in the good school and Sophie in the evil school. The reasons are mystical and fateful. The friendship of both is put to the test and there are forces that manipulate them both without them knowing anything about it.

Agatha and Sophie are the embodiment of beautiful emotions for me. This pulled me in so much that I was rooting for them until the end and even couldn't suppress a tear at the end. Friendship, trust, bonding and commitment to friendship are what it's really all about. The rest of the film is incidental.

The emotional depth of the story is further supported by the beautiful background music, which I really liked.

Aesthetically, I also find the film really successful and beautiful. The scenery is beautiful, I like the setting as well, and the costumes and sets are really great to look at.

All in all, the film was really worth it for me, and I really wouldn't have expected that after FlyingKerbecs' words. Definitely a film I would like to see again. Thus, I give the film a recommendation and award it

8/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

A Readers' point of view

[ckwatson · 6/10 · 21 October 2022]

The actors did an amazing job portraying the characters of the book. However, as a fan of the series since the first instalments release, I was disappointed to see that the plot of the film loosely followed the plot of the book.

In the book, the Village of Gavaldon is surrounded by the endless woods they are confined to their village with no opportunity to leave. I was thrown off by the "discovery" of the school for good and evil; in the book the school master has taken readers from Gavaldon every 4 years for the last 2 centuries, children of varying age and gender are taken. This is a well known legend in Gavaldon. Not something Sophie and Agatha discover by a embossing in a copy of Cinderella. Sophie's life long dream is to be taken by the Headmaster to the school for good. It's the whole reason she fights to hard to be switched with Agatha once she is there.

The whole concept of the headmaster being a mystery was thrown out, and instead replaced with Rafal disguising himself as Rhian for 2 centuries. The headmaster being a mystery further fuels the fight between the two schools as the Nevers believe it's Rhian who won the fight between the brothers due to the Evers always triumphing in the fairytales. He is also shown guiding Sophie to divulge in evil and blood magic, yet in the book Sophie's evil grows as she begins having her nemesis dreams. Nemesis dreams also begin her transformation into a witch. Rafal is also portrayed as a young boy, however in the books he is a full grown man. Which makes more sense when you know his history of relationship with Evelyn Sader and Callis.

There were important characters missing such as Professor Sader who played a crucial role in the book that was never explored in the film he was an confident for Agatha, a comfort in a strange world. He also has a pretty important role to play being a Seer an ability that allowed him to give Rafal the "Reader Prophecy" which began Rafals abductions of the children of Gavaldon. His story line extends into the the next book "A World Without Princes" with his half-sister being Evelyn Sader, who appears in the second instalment of the series attempting to revive her lover Rafal. They have changed the origin story of Lady Lesso, Originally she is from Netherwood (as is Agatha's mother). She is not Leonora of Gavaldon (woods beyond); though it seems a very small detail to be criticising, the change also ties in with the change to the legend of the school for good and evil.

They also didn't include the Beast of the Doom Room and instead replaced this role with Lady Lesso. The beast is the Torturer at the School for Evil. He tortures Sophie by cutting off her hair and Sophie gets her revenge by drowning the beast. This is the start to Sophie evolving as it is one of her first signs of being evil.

There were other parts of the book that were left out of the film such as Sophie's "Good deeds" which her attempt to be accepted into the School for Good after having a reality check, and coming to the conclusion that good deeds with selfish intentions will be rewarded. Her introduction as jealous and vain is important to her role. She resents her father and hates her stepmother and is envious of her half brothers and the attention her father gives them. She hates the village she lives in a doesn't like anyone but Agatha. These are very important qualities to understanding her character. This allows the readers of the book to get a glimpse into Sophie's lack of understanding of being good. It allows readers to see that Sophie is willing to do anything to get what she wants, what she feels she deserves.

The plotting and scheming to leave the school was completely put aside leaving the film with little context. This again was a crucial element in the books as it shows the relationships between the characters being built. It depicts the strong bond of the Coven (Hester, Anadil and Dot), as well as the blind loyalty of Hort towards Sophie. It also shows the relationships they build with Agatha.

The way the film portrayed the romance between Agatha and Tedros was also disappointing. From the moment he met her in the film he had an affection for her which completely contradicts the books. Their relationship takes an entire book to bloom. They spend the majority of the book despising each other and fighting for Sophie's attention. It shows their love hate relationship and defies the Ever idea of "love at first sight". Their differences and their ability to overcome them are what build their strong relationship during the course of the series. Tedros likes the fact that Agatha doesn't fawn over him but challenges his ideals even when he doesn't want to be told he's wrong.

Though I enjoyed the casting and think that all of the actors did a tremendous job. I feel as though the producers could have focussed a bit more on the appearance of the characters and their development; they should have tried to keep them as close to the book as possible. In the books, Underneath Agatha's black sack of a dress, her jet black greasy hair, her poor manners and lack of etiquette she is a beautiful princess. I feel that those attributes to the character should have been portrayed to show her character development. She is meant to find beauty in herself, to acknowledge the good in herself, let go of self doubt and overcome a lifetime of being treated as an outcast. She spends the majority of the series in a fight with herself over being normal or being a princess. They also depict the the crossing of the bridge as a simple walk, but in the book there is an invisible barrier that only the teachers are able to freely pass through. When a gather attempts to cross to get to Sophie at the school for evil, she is met with a negative reflection of herself who voices her own self doubt and her insecurities. She is only able to pass through the barrier as she is convinced she does not belong in the school for good.

Tedros and the way his character has been portrayed was mostly well done. However, he is far more conflicted than any of the other characters knew. This should have been portrayed in the film as despite his character development taking place over the course of the series, getting a deeper insight to him was very important in the first book. He's stubborn, he rude, he's a show off, a bit self centred but he also wants to be loved not for his status or his looks, he wants to be with someone who isn't vain or self absorbed, he wants to be with someone who empathises with him who is loyal to him and someone who won't abandon him, someone who won't hurt him like his mother did to him and his father. His relationship to the girls should have been displayed much better.

There were very important events missing/altered in the film such as Yubas class in the Blue forrest (which is meant to be blue), the Trial by Tale, the Circus of talents and the "No-Ball". In Yuba's class he turns the students into illusions of creatures for other students to tell them apart, good from evil. This I feel is another element to the story that shouldn't have been left out as Yuba being unable to tell Sophie and Agatha apart because of their behaviour as hobgoblins, further proves a Agatha's view of no one being solely good or evil. Tedros being unable to tell which of the hobgoblins is Sophie ( he believes Sophie to be in the wrong school) is also important as no matter how hard he tries to avoid Agatha he's drawn to her.

Secondly, the Trial by Tale is thrown around lightly in the film as if it's not a big deal but that's not the case. In the book the Trial by Tale is for the highest ranking Evers and Nevers to compete against one another and see who can last until morning. It's about fuelling the fire between the students, as well as showing the deception of Tedros. After realising that true loves kiss may be the only way to get them him the girls begin their pursuit of Tedros and winning his affection for Sophie.

Thirdly, the Circus of Talents, this meant to be a show of the power and strength that each student possesses. It's also a turning point in Sophie and Agatha's relationship. Agatha finally accepts that she is in the right school after all and wants to prove it; she uses her power to free a fairy (ex student) while sophie who has turned into her full which self, uses hers to kill the wolves and fairies (all of them being ex students). Tedros proposes to Agatha at this event which angers Sophie and pushes her to declare war on Good.

Lastly, the "No-Ball" and the "Snow Ball". Though both were depicted well and shown exactly how readers would imagine the events that occurred where not exactly true to the book. Sophie convinces Tedros at this point that Agatha has been working with her the entire time (despite Sophie deviating from their plan and embracing evil). He is so convinced that he fires an arrow at Agatha, this is what makes the switch between the Evers and Nevers.

The book is full of adventure, mischief and action. It's about the battle between good and evil not just in the fairytales but in the characters themselves; it's such a shame that Netflix has strayed so far from the original story and potentially affected the plot of the rest of the series due to unnecessary changes. I understand the need for theatrics and the limitations of time in a film however, they should have either made it a Netflix series or they should have focussed less on the action scenes and the grandeur of the ball gowns and more on the portrayal of the characters that Soman Chainani wrote, the characters that fans like myself have related to and fallen in love with over the last 9 years.

Abysmal in every way

[RebelPanda · 2/10 · 20 October 2022]

I know there are larger issues here with the awful CGI, bad acting, insanely long runtime, incompetent writing, and Paul Feig's hack directing but,

1. Why did Aggie kiss Sophie after she died? Why is that your first response when your friend dies? Neither of the characters were likeable, there were no emotional stakes, and they never seemed like friends.

2. Tedros murdered Aggie's friend in front of her, but she forgot about it, then fell in love with him. She punched him, which they laughed off as a joke, then it was never discussed again.

3. The conflict is motivated by the headmaster grooming Sophie, a minor, and no one seems to think it's odd.

4. Sophie nearly killed her classmate, then they became friends when she got a haircut? Somehow Sophie's personality changes after her makeover and she becomes friends with everyone who hated her.

5. And we probably should've addressed the pond full of imprisoned children souls.

6. Can we explain how Rafal teleports, appears in mirrors, and is pretty much omniscient? "Blood magic" is just code for lazy writing.

7. Michelle Yeoh was criminally underutilized, but she killed it in all her scenes. Unfortunately, her character's arc is condensed to a single line of dialogue.

8. The soundtrack is horrible. All of the annoying pop music fits the movie like a square peg in a round hole. The most evil thing in this movie is that awful cover of Toxic. The generic orchestral background music fails to make the overly complicated plot feel engaging.

9. Why do the main characters break the first wall by acknowledging the narrator? Breaking the fourth wall isn't a joke itself, there's no punchline. There's not even a reason to have a narrator because characters dump exposition, so it's redundant.

10. Did they hire the CGI animators of Cats (2021) to do this movie? 90% of it is bad green screens; the backgrounds are always lit and color graded differently from the actors. Some of the CGI characters are truly horrifying. The fairies, in particular, are nightmare inducing. I hope to never watch this ever again.

It gets better. Hear me out!

[FutureGuy · 6/10 · 19 October 2022]

Like always, I went in without watching any trailers or any knowledge about the source material.

In the beginning, the movie starts with the same vibe as other generic fantasy movies out there. As you progress into the story, you feel that the movie is a try-hard Harry Potter like. You're not wrong. It is. It's Harry Potter if there were only 2 houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Gryffindor (Good) has all the good qualities and quite obviously Slytherin (Evil) is all bad things possible.

For 70% of the movie, things remain pretty black and white. This is really infuriating for me because I hate such movies. Hunger Games, Divergent, depict an unnatural society where humans are so easily divided based on some function or trait. Harry Potter does the same as well. This movie repeats it too. Except here, and this is after 70% of the movie, the movie shows a tiny bit of uniqueness in the form of Agatha. I love that her character is exactly like the voice of the people watching this movie. The voice of reason. She goes around pointing almost all the same things I pointed that it's Not. As. Easy. As. That. Yes, I know other movies do that too but in those movies the protagonist is supported by a mentor character who shows them "the truth". Here, it's all Agatha. It's just her common sense. There's no Dumbledore here who comes and tells her the grand plan. In a way, Agatha feels like us. If we got into a school like that, we would act exactly like that! Like seriously, you're giving me an F for not smiling good?? I love her character.

That's the thing that I like the most about this movie. The rest of movie after this is also interesting because it tries to break from the pattern. In the form of Agatha of course. I felt the self-writing book was also a very nice plot and some very interesting story lines can emerge from that alone.

The movie should target the right audience for this to get good results. It isn't a movie for most adults. Maybe the next part would be better?

Failure sorry

[Musipedi · 3/10 · 28 October 2022]

The direction is awful, it's like cheap series in the 00s. The dialogues are childish, but not for children. The blonde protagonists has a duckface from lip fillers and she cannot express. The costumes are bearable. The story is very shallow and you really can't follow. I cannot believe they got such great actors to play in this absurdity, it's amazing that they accepted to participate. Also there mustn't be any kind of preparation or research before creating the screenplay, as they mistakenly say that Hercules was a fairytale but he was a real person in antiquity. The light is only good for the evil school, and for the good school is no light design at all. Wish they sent this money on upcoming filmmakers, they would have done it better.

If you liked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, you are going to feel underwhelmed with this film.

[fhshvdhfth · 6/10 · 25 October 2022]

The School for Good and Evil is based on Novel Franchise of the same name. The novel has had 5 sequels till date, so it must be good. The film seems like an undercooked dish, where even if the ingredients are good, you will not like what comes to your plate.

The film has more bad than good. Still, I will list out the good first. The concept of the movie is good. It is a twist on classic fairytale world. The plot of the movie is also good. However, the way the plot or story is presented on screen is bad.

The first Harry Potter film is a good example of how to make such movies. The world building in this film is lacking. The entire world of this movie consists of a village Gavaldon and the titular school. So, the setting of this film seems shallow. In Harry Potter films, though it is mostly set in Hogwarts School, action also takes place in Privet Drive, Zoo, London, Diagon Alley, King's Cross Station and Hogwarts Express. Hogwarts itself is a complex setting, shown through shifting stairs, out of bound 3rd floor, Hagrid's Hut, Forbidden Forest and even Dumbledore's Office. See the difference!

The characters in this film are not developed well, except for Protagonists and Friends Agatha and Sophie. Why does Sophie want to become a princess? Because of her late mother! The motivation does not have sufficient background, at least in this film. The heroine duo, instead of being surprised on finding the school, accept it's existence as a matter of fact just because the book store owner told them so! One could see the plot twist at the end coming from a distance.

The central mystery of this film also disappoints. Friendship between the two protagonists is shoved down our throat like we have to accept it.

Honestly and in conclusion, the story and concept is good, the acting is okay and direction is okay. The thing which lets us down is the screenplay, the way a story is transformed to movie scenes.

Almost unwatchable

[trident-39079 · 1/10 · 20 October 2022]

Sofia Wylie and Jamie Flatters are the only performances providing any redemption to this movie. Fishburne, Washington, and Theron give the worst performances of their careers. The supporting cast doesn't support at all. Even those with no lines can't seem to act at all. If Paul Feig is given another directing job after this it will be a case of charity. The dialogue is ripped from a collection of stale fortune cookies. Even the special effects look like some 10 year old did them at home on their home computer. I only watched it to the end so I could have bragging rights that I was able to survive the entire viewing.

Campy colorful fairytale story about friendship

[hazard111 · 8/10 · 19 October 2022]

I've never read the books this was based on so I cannot comment if it's faithful or accurate.. I tuned in because I saw Cate, Charlize, and Laurence in the casting. It wasn't a masterpiece but it did deliver a good light hearted fantasy story.

The overall vibe of the movie reminded me of these children's books I've read as a kid with bright colorful pictures that tell a straightforward adventure story with a simple message at the end. It's predictable and no gritty plot twists which might be a downside for some but I wasn't expecting that to begin with. It's just light and fun, perhaps also touching in some scenes.

I love that it's sharp and saturated and not dull like what we normally get currently, especially during night scenes. Here you can clearly see everything. They really nailed the aesthetic of fairytale. The costumes as well!

The CGI and action sequences are doable enough. The music choices hit and miss. As for the actors, I like them enough. Charlize and Kerry were such fun contrasts of each other. Laurence Sophia Anne Caruso I think really nailed her character. She has this very Disney princess vibe to her even her voice. Sofia Wylie also did great but I can't quite see her as a gloomy character she's supposed to be portraying?

Overall I find it quite campy to the point of cheesy drama but I liked it anyway coz to me it fits the the vibe and theme of the story. It's giving similar to Enchanted or Ella Enchanted. I also liked that the focus was their friendship. I would've rated this movie higher if they made it as a series to really flesh out the characters of more characters... but alas.

Garbage

[bijougaijin · 28 October 2022]

I just couldn't get into it:

• The characters were unrelatable, unlikeable, and frankly, their character arcs were rather underwhelming. When I'm hoping Rafal (the villain) wins just so the movie can end sooner, then you know it's bad.

• This felt more like a sophomore philosophy class than a story/movie. I get that everyone is supposed to represent a caricature of a fairytale villain or hero, but it was really annoying for 2.5 hours of it. Yes, we get it. We're all made up of good and evil, ying & yang, shades of gray, etc. Yes, stories back in the day were black and white, but I imagine there were a lot more dangers present back then, which is probably why the stories were so brutal. We can afford to be nicer today.

• What I really didn't like is that all the relationships were super co-dependent, let alone toxic, particularly between the two main girls. Agatha, cut your losses, girl, and move on. No amount of BS is worth that.

• Agatha was a Mary Sue who was smarter, stronger, and overall better than everyone else and didn't require any training as she was innately superior... Yawn!!

• Did Agatha really shrug it of when Tedros murdered her supposed guy bff?

• Breaking the 1st wall... I really hate that. It has to be so well timed. It really takes the audience out of the story. This clearly is a trend right now as I've seen it in a lot of current films, but only Dead Pool is really able to pull it off.

• Rafal looked like a 70s vampire at the end. I shouldn't be laughing that hard.

• The teachers were criminally underutilized. Why have such a great cast with such minimal screen time?

• I love my bff, but I'm not about to kiss her on the lips only to be called true love's kiss. That's just odd.

Good or Evil?

[kermitdgorf123 · 6/10 · 19 October 2022]

The kids and the fairies on the "good" side were more snide and egotistical and meaner then the evil side.

The lead teen girls dropped off at the wrong schools were both good .

Interesting fairy tale. Inclusive racially. Some big stars. Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh and Pati , lapone. And Cate Blanchette as the narrator of the story. There was action and lots of color. It was fun. Kids would like it. A lot of fairytale tropes. But still I was entertained.

Talking animals. And humor throughout.

I didn't read the book the movie was based on so I cannot say if it was true to the book or not.

Oh lord....this is bad

[lanlies · 1/10 · 29 October 2022]

OK so I read reviews good & bad & I can tell you....the way the good reviews are writing these are paid editors...........this movie is BAD: no not bad as it bad ass......bad bad.

Firstly the "prim" character (Aggie(?) I cared that little I didn't even take it her name) was soooo annoying .....not just the horrible acting but the dark eyebrows & platinum hair was just so distracting. The other "goth" character is so wooden it was unreal.......no real sentiment or feelings....just dead wood.

Secondly: when is this supposed to be??? They are all dressed medieval but say stuff like "cool" & just chill & have lunch together gossiping & it feels modern day. They go from a dirty market with knife weilding witch-killers to a clean shiny book shop with gold embossed pages all in the same breath.....it makes no sense.

Thirdly...this music, the overbearing pop that makes me want to be deaf.. again, when is this?

Lastly - all the well known actors in this have sadly debased themselves for this rubbish which is disappointing to say the least..... Charlie come on now........you played Aileen Wuornus unbelievably well......

Everyone in this movie is a bland friend, a shallow rival or just someone so cute you forget they are a murderer (that bit is ridiculously laughable). It took my days to finish cause it got so cringe I couldn't bear it.....only watched it cause need to know endings (what a curse!!).......also a massive letdown!!!

Fun with great art direction

[filmmakersis · 8/10 · 22 October 2022]

Fun to watch with my older kids, never really boring. Some cheesy moments but nothing in comparison to how cheesy and unbearable Descendants is so if you have to pick one go with THIS one. Fantastic art direction and costuming also really brings the whole vibe of the story together. And having some famous older actors we love was a very nice touch too and they seem to be having fun in their roles in this. The only issue I had is that this is a fairy tale theme not in the real world yet one of the main characters says "Oh my God" about 24 times in a 3 min span like as typical teenager when she's freaking out over her friend being hurt near the end. I don't know if this was a misstep, clearly the actress was adlibbing and that is what she would have said in real life, but it's kind of hilarious because you're definitely taken out of the storybook fairy tale land here. Not a complaint, it's just really funny when they're literally in medieval fairy gowns and she's like "oh my god, like oh my god, like, oh my god.." had me and my kids cracking up. But yeah, we loved it honestly.

Enchanted school district

[RedKidBytes · 7/10 · 20 October 2022]

A fantastical fairytale with emotional enhancements that mirror today's norms. A great story with likable characters paced at a perfect speed. A mesmerizing world created beautifully, and far from reality locked in between the forces of good and evil.

Deserving youngsters kidnapped by the smoky creatures with malfeasant glaring eyes, dropped off to the school of good or evil based on their inner inhibitions as well desires.

But there's something off. The students of the school of good sometimes lack decency, and the students of the school of evil sometimes aren't all that bad.

As the plot thickens the truth is told in the end.

It is very very entertaining and could be watched with the entire family.

Painful watch

[autumnwil · 1/10 · 22 October 2022]

Took too long to get to the point, bad acting, silly costumes, lack luster villain, boring main character that follows her friend(?) like a lost puppy, and corny writing. I tried giving this movie a chance since I like fantasy movies but it was so bad. This movie has an okay message with poor execution. Some scenes are just not necessary and some are even painful to watch. The CGI is meh especially for Netflix, and the setting is enough to look at but other than that, nothing more. It's not even an interesting bad movie. This movie felt like it was missing so much yet was over done. I don't know why and how it got the green light. I'm assuming it is because Netflix wanted to make money off of a fan base once again.