Bad Genius

Bad Genius (2024) is a remake of a Thai film by the same name from 2017. It uses the original 2017 as a recipe - down to the dialog, sets, atmosphere, character ambitions, even character placement on-set. It follows this recipe exactly, only straying a bit towards the end and changing a few minor elements of the original's plot. Somehow in doing so it becomes a bland, lazy, and forced experience. To understand why, we need to talk a bit about the original 2017 movie and what made it so special.

Bad Genius (2017) is a movie that I loved so much I watched it more times than I'd like to admit; so yes, I'm biased. It has its flaws - it's sometimes a bit cheesy with the sound effects and direction choices - but it lands as a successful and engaging heist movie. It was a massive hit in its home country Thailand and across south east Asia. However it was what this movie accomplished otherwise that made me so drawn to it.

The original 2017 film took on the difficult tasks of writing smart characters and putting them in an atmosphere of test-taking, that would otherwise be boring on film, while making it somehow incredibly suspenseful. It took four fantastically cast leads that had few to no previous acting experiences and made them stars. Its production was through the roof, incorporating some great effects from its soundtrack to the on-screen display of text overlay used to convey its message. Lynn was *smart*. She came across as truly smart young woman with exceptional talents that had a loving father she cared for; testaments to the original writers. Her relationships felt natural, and the supporting cast made sure of this in their acting and chemistry. Her methods and schemes were displayed via film in a satisfying and enjoyable manner. Her relationship with her father was emotional and well acted on both ends. The story had pace and purpose, but most importantly it had SUSPENSE. And it did all this filmed and produced in a country that is probably not considered a powerhouse of cinema.

Bad Genius (2024) has little to none of what it's attempting to carbon copy. The remake somehow manages to take all the right ingredients - lighting, suspenseful music, same plot points, same characters - and turn it into a sloppy rendition of what feels like a poor dub of the original. It has no grand moments. It has no charm. It has almost zero emotion. Lynn (2024) *acts* smart, but we do not feel like the character is truly a genius. The classroom scenes *feel* like they're trying to convey suspense, but just come across as mostly silly. The supporting cast is lacking. It is not in the least bit suspenseful. All we are left with that translated well is a good father figure, thanks to the great Benedict Wong, and good acting from Callina Liang who attempts to give the poor rendition any life.

There is no reason to watch this. Watch the original if you haven't (or if you just want to watch it again) and thank me later.

Lynn (Callina Liang) is a brilliant student with no family money. His widowed father Meng (Benedict Wong) works tirelessly in his laundromat business. She gets a scholarship to a prestigious Seattle high school. She is befriended by rich girl Grace (Taylor Hickson) who slowly pulls her into the rich kids' world. They recruit her into passing answers to them. Bank (Jabari Banks) is the other smart scholarship kid in their class.

Apparently, this is adapted from a Thai film which I haven't seen. All I know is this movie needs a change in Lynn. I get the idea of a poor innocent Chinese girl being lured into doing bad by a bunch of rich white kids. It would be more fun if she starts the movie doing some scheme to make money. I would even accept a narration where she reads the people around her. She needs to be emotionally smart like she is later in the movie. The first thirty minutes are very standard and rather boring. It's downright uninspired. It takes a long time to get into something interesting. At times, I thought that Banks should be the lead character, but it really should be Lynn... with a change.

Bad Genius is a remake of the Thai film of the same name from 2017. This remake was directed and partly written by J. C. Lee. With this remake he makes his directorial debut.

The brilliant, scholar Lynn Kang (Callina Liang) would like to continue studying at a university, but unfortunately she and her father Meng Kang (Benedict Wong) do not have the money for this. In order to get money, Lynn decides to abuse her intelligence and help other students by letting them copy the correct answers for school tests. In return, Lynn is paid by them. With this money she hopes to be able to go to university, but when she is caught for her false actions, she risks her chances of still being admitted.

This more western remake seems to modernize the film a bit, not doing much special than just copying the original version. This remake also seems to have been put together a bit too quickly, so that you do not really get to know most of the characters, so that you do not really care about them. This can make it feel a bit long-winded at times.

Due to the rushed, copied aspects, most of the cast also don't really manage to do anything special with their roles. Benedict Wong comes out best as a caring father, who tries to be there for his daughter despite his financial problems. Unfortunately, he doesn't have such a big role in the film.

Loved this movie. It has suspenseful moments where you're on the edge of your seat hoping they don't get caught. But, you're not rooting for the good guys, rather, the students who are cheating who really should be caught. They try to justify their actions by claiming it's a rigged system run by the elite rich. But cheating on tests, so you get into a better college, is just as bad as getting hired because of your ethnicity or social grouping. We also find out that one of the characters who is a "victim of the system" is actually gaming the system themselves as an illegal immigrant.

It ends well when Lynn turns down an offer to make sure she gets into Juilliard when she says "I want to believe I got in because I deserved it."

It does contain a couple of F-bombs which are totally unnecessary. It also reinforces the notion that minorities can't get by without welfare assistance. Overall, it's good entertainment and keeps you guessing what's gonna happen next.

Bad Genius blew me away with its unique take on the heist genre. Instead of your typical bank or casino robbery, this film turns the world of academic exams into a high-stakes game, and the results are nothing short of brilliant. The tension is palpable from start to finish, and every scene feels meticulously crafted to keep you on the edge of your seat. I have not seen the Thai movie that it was apparently adapted from but I so enjoy this one that I think I just might try to find it and watch it was well. I always like to compare how the same story is told differently from a different filmmakers point of view.