The School for Good and Evil

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.