44/22
A group of seniors from an entrepreneurial high school band together to bring down a rigged college admissions system. Remake of the Thai film Bad Genius (2017). Early in the film, there is a scene where Lynn calculates the cost of her commute to the private school she attended. The film shows a stack of public transit tickets clearly marked with a SEPTA logo, which stands for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA operates in the greater Philadelphia area. Half a minute later, the film identifies Seattle as the city where Lynn and her father live. References Roots (1977). Bad Genius (2024) is a remake of a 2017 Thai film of the same name. It uses the 2017 original as a recipe—right down to dialogue, setting, atmosphere, character ambition, and even character placement on set. It follows that exact formula, only deviating a little towards the end and changing a few minor elements of the original plot. This somehow makes the film a bland, lame, and forced experience. To understand why, we need to talk a little about the original 2017 film and what made it so special. Bad Genius (2017) is a film that I loved so much that I’ve seen it more times than I’d like to admit; so yes, I’m biased. It has its flaws – the sound effects and direction are a little cheesy at times – but it’s a well-executed and compelling gangster film. It was a huge hit in its home country of Thailand and across Southeast Asia. But it’s what else this film accomplished that drew me in. The original 2017 film took on the difficult task of writing intelligent characters and placing them in an ordeal atmosphere that would otherwise be boring on film, and somehow made it incredibly suspenseful in the process. He made stars out of four fantastically cast leads who had little to no acting experience. The production was superb and included some great effects from the soundtrack to the on-screen display of the text overlay used to get the message across. Lynn was *smart*. She came across as a really smart young woman with exceptional talents who had a loving father to care for; a testament to the original writers. Her relationships felt natural and the supporting cast made up for it through their acting and chemistry. Her methods and schemes were portrayed in the film in a satisfying and entertaining way. Her relationship with her father was emotional and well acted by both sides. The story had pace and purpose, but most importantly, it had TENSION. And all of this was filmed and produced in a country that probably isn’t considered a hotbed of cinema. Bad Genius (2024) has little to none of what it’s trying to copy. The remake somehow manages to take all the right ingredients – lighting, suspenseful music, the same plot points, the same characters – and turn them into a sloppy rendition of what feels like a poor copy of the original. There are no great moments. It has no charm. It has almost no emotion. Lynn (2024) *acts* smart, but we don’t get the feeling that the character is really a genius. The scenes in the classroom *feel* like they’re trying to create tension, but mostly just come across as silly. The supporting cast is lacking. It’s not the least bit engaging. All we’re left with is a good father figure, thanks to the great Benedict Wong, and good acting from Callina Liang, who tries to breathe life into the poor portrayal. There’s no reason to watch this. Watch the original if you haven’t already (or if you just want to watch it again) and thank me later.