Bad Genius

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2:18

Bad Genius

2024

1h 36m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

72%

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18 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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Jake Wilson

Sydney Morning Herald

Sadly, Bad Genius fails to fulfil its early promise, especially when it comes to subverting the English-language stereotype of Asian students as brainy but straitlaced.

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 19, 2025

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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

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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

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Simon Foster

Screen-Space (Substack)

Pulses with the energy and thrills of a heist film, but it is the deeper theme of privileged America exploiting the intelligence and ambitions of the nation’s minorities that resonates.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 12, 2025

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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

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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

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Kyle M

Remake equals rejuvenated discussion in applicable terms. Differing integrities may watch this in a disapproving gaze but cannot help but commend over its intelligence in structuring a tangible heist film over such plot with couple unprecedented turns that socially aligns towards the unseen original while also sharply executed to plausibly question. (B)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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Audience Member

Mediocre movie that makes no sense.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/01/25

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Jerod S

Che's brilliant - but turns to cheating in order to pay her way to Juliard. The tricks to get answers for the SAT were fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

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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

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Garry A

It's smart, clever, and fun!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/25

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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

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J.C. Lee

Director

Callina Liang

Lynn

Benedict Wong

Actor

Jabari Banks

Bank

Taylor Hickson

Grace

Sarah-Jane Redmond

Irene Walsh

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Bad Genius: Trailer 1

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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: Picturestart, Little Ray Media, 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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