21/32
A group of entrepreneurial high school seniors dismantle a fake college admissions system. A remake of the Thai film Bad Genius (2017). The film opens with a scene where Lynn calculates the cost of a trip to a private school she was touring. The film shows a pile of public transportation tickets clearly marked with the SEPTA logo, which stands for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA operates in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Half a minute later, the film identifies the city Lynn and her father live in as Seattle. References Roots (1977). Bad Genius (2024) is a remake of the 2017 Thai film of the same name. It uses the original 2017 as a recipe – down to the dialogue, sets, atmosphere, character goals, and even character placement. It follows this recipe closely, only straying towards the end and changing a few small elements of the original plot. Somehow, in doing so, it becomes a dull, lazy, 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 watched it more times than I care to admit; so yes, I’m biased. It has its flaws — it’s a bit clunky at times with the sound effects and direction choices — but it makes for a successful and engaging heist film. It was a huge hit in its home country of Thailand and Southeast Asia. However, it’s what this film otherwise achieved that made me gravitate towards it. The original 2017 film took on the difficult task of writing intelligent characters and putting them in a testing atmosphere that would otherwise be boring in a film. It’s somehow incredibly exciting. It took four fantastically acting leads with little to no previous acting experience and made them stars. Its production was through the roof, with some great effects, from its soundtrack to the on-screen text overlay used to convey the message. Lynn was *smart*. She became a truly intelligent young woman with extraordinary abilities and a loving father she cared about; a testament to the original writers. Her relationships felt natural, and the supporting cast ensured this with their acting and chemistry. Her methods and plans were presented throughout the film in a satisfying and enjoyable way. Her relationship with her father was emotional and well-acted on 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 is probably not considered a film powerhouse. Bad Genius (2024) does little to copy what it tries to copy. The remake somehow manages to take all the right ingredients – the lighting, the exciting music, the same plot points, the same characters – and turn it into a sloppy rehash that feels like a poor remake of the original. It has no great moments. It has no charm. It has almost zero emotion. Lynn (2024) *acts* smartly, but we don’t feel like the character is truly a genius. The classroom scenes *feel* like they’re trying to convey excitement, but they mostly look silly. The supporting cast is lacking. It’s not even remotely exciting. All that’s left is a good father figure, courtesy of the great Benedict Wong, and a good performance by Callina Liang, who tries to breathe life into a bad performance. This is not worth watching. Watch the original if you haven’t (or if you just want to watch it again), and thank me later.
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