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Bad Genius

Play trailer 2:18 Poster for Bad Genius Released Oct 11, 2024 1h 36m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 16 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
BAD GENIUS is a gripping thriller that follows Lynn, a brilliant scholarship student, who devises an ingenious cheating scheme to help her friends ace their exams. As their underground cheating operation expands, Lynn finds herself at the center of a high-stakes game that tests her morals and pits her against the American education system.
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Bad Genius

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com Fans of the 2017 version of “Bad Genius” may not need a makeover, but it’s still both novel and compelling enough to be worthwhile. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 11, 2024 Full Review Brandon Yu New York Times "Bad Genius” doesn’t actually have the political bite to back its bark. For all of its declarations meant to be scathing indictments of a rigged system, it is glaringly resistant to ever saying the word “white.” Oct 11, 2024 Full Review Jack Walters Loud and Clear Reviews "Bad Genius turns the story of one school’s cheating scandal into a blood-pumping thriller, but loses momentum fairly quickly." Rated: 3/5 Jan 18, 2025 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Low-key and straightforward, without overt humor or padding, this high-school heist movie succeeds mainly due to its focus on systemic racism in the United States. Rated: 3/5 Dec 25, 2024 Full Review Emilie Black Cinema Crazed Bad Genius is a good remake of a fantastic film that feels familiar. Nov 6, 2024 Full Review Erik Childress Movie Madness Podcast The suspenseful test sequences are well-staged and nicely crafted. But the screenplay never quite establishes the leap of its genius protagonist to so quickly ignore the calculation of how getting caught sends all numbers to zero. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 17, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (8) audience reviews
Hoang T I love everyone's acting in here Thank you for rewriting the ending, I really love it. It showed how smart Lynn actually is and at the same time manage to give Bank the ending he deserves. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/25 Full Review Garry A It's smart, clever, and fun! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/25 Full Review Magnus A Very watchable. Callina Liang really carries the film, supported by a good cast. Slightly undercooked plot, fiddle SAT test scores and the world is yours - not really how that works. The larger story pulled a few punches but there was suspense and a sense of jeopardy. The rich kids were predictably entitled and the Asian/Immigrant kids were geniuses...did someone mention clichés and stereotypes? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/25 Full Review Trina B IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a group of diverse school high school students who team up to take down a rigged college admissions system. The film was directed by J.C. Lee, who also co-wrote it with Julius Onah. As a university professor, it really drove me nuts to see so much cheating, especially because I studied so hard to get my various degrees throughout the years! I know cheating happens at all educational levels. Knowing I often put in more time and effort into my students’ education than they do is so disheartening. The movie is loosely based on real-life events that happened in Thailand. THINGS I LIKED: The cast includes Benedict Wong, Taylor Hickson, Samuel Braun, and Jabari Banks. The young starlet, Callina Liang, gives a really great, believable performance. I had never seen her in anything before. It’s strange how you’re torn between wanting these dishonest kids to get caught and actually rooting for them. Crazy, right? Acts 2 and 3 are filled with extreme tension. The structure of the movie is set up like a heist film with all of the snags, compelling characters, and twists. Yes, there really are people that are this smart and dumb in the world today! THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE: All of the white people in the movie are the evil ones who start all of the cheating. Bad behavior is rewarded. Great lesson. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Young kids will be bored. Teens might be interested. There is a lot of math involved. The lyrics to some songs played during scenes have multiple F-bombs. Some violence To see my full review, go to my Movie Review Mom YouTube channel! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/31/24 Full Review Les N I can't help but think that the Thais wound be offended that a Thai story involved a Korean. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/29/24 Full Review prawnda s it's a little better than other films this year, but that doesn't make it exceptional. many of the signals the students use are utterly excessive and obvious, and the film is surprisingly vapid. i would have given a higher rating if they didn't play so much of debussy's arabesque, because literally everyone on the planet is tired of that song by now. sure, i liked it when i was younger and hadn't heard it spammed on every youtube video and in every dentist's office, but it's an extremely low hanging fruit if the film is supposed to be about intellectuals. it would have been less cringey to use yo yo ma's bach recordings, and yes that is facetious. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/15/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Bad Genius

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis BAD GENIUS is a gripping thriller that follows Lynn, a brilliant scholarship student, who devises an ingenious cheating scheme to help her friends ace their exams. As their underground cheating operation expands, Lynn finds herself at the center of a high-stakes game that tests her morals and pits her against the American education system.
Director
J.C. Lee
Producer
Erik Feig, Jessica Switch, Ashley Stern, Patrick Wachsberger
Screenwriter
J.C. Lee, Julius Onah
Distributor
Vertical
Production Co
Little Ray Media, Picturestart, Picture Perfect Federation
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 11, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 11, 2024
Runtime
1h 36m
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