Barely Lethal

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Barely Lethal

PG-13

2015

1h 36m

Action

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

26%

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34 Reviews

38%

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2,500+ Ratings

Seeking a normal adolescence, a special-operations agent (Hailee Steinfeld) fakes her own death and enrolls in high school as an exchange student.

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Critics Consensus

Just like its underserved protagonist, Barely Lethal is in disguise -- it wants you to think it's smarter than it is but it fails by falling prey to all the clichés it mocks.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

From the grisly punning title to the low-rent action sequences, this really is less fun than double maths.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 30, 2015

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

[A] bubbly but very lightweight high-school comedy.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 28, 2015

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

Hardly groundbreaking but this high-school actioner ghosts by on its charm and sense of fun.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 27, 2015

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Stephen O'Nion

One Room With A View

Attempts to subvert some of the standard tropes never really come off and it's light on laughs...

Rated: 2/5

May 4, 2019

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David Sugarman

CineVue

The great set-up could, and really should, have delivered a better movie than it did, but while it's unlikely to be remembered alongside the films it delights in name-checking, there's enjoyment to be had.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 6, 2019

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Lisa Twang

The New Paper (Singapore)

It is not nearly as intelligent as Mean Girls, but the ass-kicking is still fun to watch.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 20, 2017

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hamishthepanda123 W

It's fine. First half was a forgetful teen film. Second half had tons of twists some worked for it some didn't. The story was nothing special. The performances were great. The second half was 1000× better and had me actually paying attention. The first half was weak. The film seemed to be unsure as to what to be. The direction was fine. It felt like a DCOM but had swear words, blood and Violence. Have no idea who this is for, but it is a fun time and Dove Cameron was the most memorable part of the film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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tiago m

O filme tem um desenvolvimento muito rápido, cenas sem sentido, efeitos questionáveis e vilões genéricos, mas a protagonista é boa, tem muitas cenas legais, a trama, apesar de rápida, vai para caminhos muito interessantes, os atores, em geral fazem um bom serviço. Perfeito para relaxar

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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Caroline H

Huge cast. Definitely one of those films at the time seems naff but coming back to feels like a cult classic!! Obsessed.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/25/24

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Francisco C

Great feel good movie. The persona of Samuel L. Jackson in this movie somewhat reminds me of his characters persona in The Long Kiss Goodnight. To be fair ever actor in this move exceptional. Great casting, great production, great story. Everyone involved in this movie deserves an A. Not a Disney+ production, but can rival a Disney+ production on its own terms.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/24

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Dominic R

Great movie, lots of laughs. Not sure what everyone was expecting with the bad comments but it was exactly the movie it should have been!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/09/24

Full Review

Yash B

"Barely Lethal" attempts to blend a spy movie with a high school comedy and it excels at neither. The movie has a few funny situations and moments, but it is mostly a flat one that is worse than a lot of the movies it is making fun of. I felt like the movie actually had a decent concept and premise but fails to do anything new or innovative with it. I think the actors in the movie are capable of much better than what they had to work with here so a bad story isn't really their fault. Overall, the movie is forgettable and completely skippable because there are plenty of fish-out-of-water high school comedies out there that are far more entertaining.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/16/23

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Kyle Newman

Director

Hailee Steinfeld

Megan Walsh

Jessica Alba

Victoria Knox

Samuel L. Jackson

Hardman

Sophie Turner

Heather

Dove Cameron

Liz Larson

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Synopsis

Seeking a normal adolescence, a special-operations agent (Hailee Steinfeld) fakes her own death and enrolls in high school as an exchange student.

Director: Kyle Newman
Producer: Brett Ratner, John Cheng, Sukee Chew, Vanessa Coifman, Ted Hartley
Screenwriter: John D'Arco
Distributor: A24
Production Co: RKO Pictures, Ratpac Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Drug References|Sexual Material|Some Action Violence|Teen Drinking)
Genre: Action, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 29, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 36m

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