For as long as we have been placing value on academic results and viewing them as the ultimate indication of success as far as scholastic achievement, there have been conversations around whether something such as ethical cheating can exist – is it possible that going against the honour system presented by every academic institution can be appropriately subverted, granted it is done for the better good? A few years ago, this question was asked in the form of Bad Genius, a Thai thriller that focused on the high-stakes world of elite academia. It has been remade in a variety of markets and even found a secondary medium on television, and has now been brought to the United States by J.C. Lee, who adapts the original film (alongside Julius Onah, who co-writes the screenplay, reuniting with Lee after they collaborate on Luce a few years ago) to take place in a prestigious New England high school. The story focuses on Lynn, the very definition of an ideal student – she achieves perfect grades alongside being a strong athlete and a musical prodigy, making her the most coveted applicant for several elite universities, all of which scramble to make her offers to join their student body when the time comes. However, Lynn gets involved with a group of fellow students, who decide to take advantage of her desire to have friends, manipulating her into helping them cheat on their tests in the hopes of boosting their grades – and what started as a favour eventually turns into a major business for our protagonist, who begins to see that she can monetize her gifts, all the while constantly being aware that she could be caught at any moment. A solid effort from Lee, who is making his directorial debut after a few years of producing, Bad Genius is a fun film, albeit one that does pale in comparison to both the source material and the many other similarly-toned films that attempt to be unique, but ultimately follow the same hackneyed patterns we see all too commonly with these stories.

In theory, Bad Genius is a brilliant concept – school systems vary between cultures (and even within them, there are major differences between styles of education), but there are certain consistent elements, and the idea of academic brilliance being the main barometer of success, as assessed through test scores and grades, is almost universal, with only a few outliers in the form of those institutions that approach education more experimentally. It doesn’t seem obvious in theory, but a high school is oddly the perfect setting for a tense psychological thriller since this is the place where people are essentially forging a path for themselves for the future, and where their grades are going to determine whether they are en route to success, or if they are going to have to settle for mediocrity, which is understandably quite controversial and the factor that has led to a lot of attempts at education reform. Setting all of this aside and looking at it from a fundamental level, it’s not difficult to understand why the original film was such a success, since it introduces itself as a tightly wound thriller that moves at a mile a minute and never relents in placing these characters in tense situations that could rival any more traditional heist thriller, which were major influences on this story. It also helps that the film centres on characters we don’t normally find leading such films – high school students are some of the most shrewd and resourceful individuals, especially when it comes to strategizing to succeed academically, so it made sense for this film to be quite daring in how it presents their attempts to take advantage of a system that they believe is designed to ensure that they fail. Constructed around the idea of students defying obstacles and going against the principles that are viewed as outdated and too rigid (done to intentionally make the protagonists sympathetic figures – the true villain of this story is the education system as a whole), Bad Genius offers some keen insights, but naturally only can do so much before it begins to show its seams.

A film like Bad Genius facilitates the opportunity to find new talent in the form of young actors who may have very little or no prior film experience, being a perfect place to introduce their gifts to audiences and hopefully serve as a springboard to a flourishing career in the industry. The film has a few solid performances, albeit only one or two stand out as being particularly special. One of them is delivered by Callina Liang, who portrays the protagonist – her performance is quite strong, particularly because she has the most challenging character and is the focus of the story, requiring her to run the gamut of emotions rather than being restricted to one-dimensional archetypes, which is the case with the rest of the cast. Taylor Hickson, Samuel Braun and Jabari Banks take on the parts of the vapid popular girl, the over-confident jock and the quiet academic respectively, all of which are such common archetypes, the film barely manages to sustain itself when they are momentarily made the focus in certain scenes. This film doesn’t demand the strongest performances, since it is the concept that is ultimately doing most of the work, but it is quite disheartening that it doesn’t provide us with much promise in terms of a new generation of actors, since outside of the lead, none of these younger actors seems to register. The film does attempt to give itself some gravitas in the casting of Benedict Wong as the protagonist’s father, hoping that the presence of a veteran actor may give the film some credibility, and while he is excellent, his part is too small and just as one-dimensional as all the rest – but to his credit, the film is at its best when focusing on the father-daughter relationship, so there was space to explore this further, even if it didn’t factor into the narrative all that much. Not a character piece in the way we would expect, Bad Genius doesn’t do much with its cast, but they’re at least serviceable enough to not be too much of a distraction from the central narrative.

In addition to some of the performances being quite stiff and forced, Bad Genius loses momentum midway through for the simple reason that it lacks an identity. The film is almost entirely a direct remake of the original Thai film, right down to the character names and plot beats – some elements do change, such as geographic details and a few aspects of how the story unfolds, but for the most part, it is a very straightforward adaptation. Whether the original filmmakers were insistent that their vision is not changed, or Lee and Onah weren’t willing to change the plot too much remains to be seen, but it is clear that the lack of a unique vision is what ultimately derails this film and prevents it from being anything other than merely passable at its peak. There is such a narrow boundary between being faithful to the original text and being almost a shot-for-shot copy, and this film occupies the latter, despite having the opportunity to be more original and inventive. There wasn’t any need to remain so close to the original film to the point where the film missed out on crucial cues that could have led to some insightful, bespoke commentary. The decision to basically just transpose the plot and just change the setting is why it is difficult to feel sympathy for its moments of failure since it loses its identity and doesn’t manage to be anything other than a novelty remake of a much better film. It’s not even a case where the first film was an unimpeachable classic that would be tarnished if even a word was changed – these are pulpy, illogical thrillers without much logic driving them (including many scenes that quite simply do not bear any resemblance to reality), but where the enjoyment comes in seeing it all unfold. This is a film designed specifically for those who have never seen the original, based on how the tension is immediately removed once we know how the story ends. There’s a distinct lack of depth behind this film, and it doesn’t earn much credit for its lacklustre efforts.

Bad Genius is an attempt to revive the popularity of the original film, which has proven to be quite a sensation abroad. However, it’s difficult to imagine this film having the same impact, since it is mildly entertaining at the best of moments, never really amounting to anything beyond the bare minimum with which it is working. Taken at face value, the film is solid – it offers a decent amount of entertainment, and at only 96 minutes, it is a brisk, rapid-fire story that doesn’t overstay its welcome (although it does lack the energy of the original, meaning that it drags in the more fallow moments, which coincidentally could have been the parts of the film where Lee and Onah brought in their ideas, rather than just following the original plot down to the smallest detail), so it can never be accused of being excessive. Lee has a strong eye for visuals, and the film is well-directed, particularly considering the script was not all that strong when it comes to logic, and its difficult to give too much criticism to what is essentially an enjoyable thriller set in a new environment that delivers what it offers and not an ounce more – for those seeking something solid but unchallenging, Bad Genius is more than sufficient, and at the very least proves to be a good debut for Lee, who we can only hope will be able to express himself more openly in whatever creative pursuit he undergoes next, the promise he shows here being a sign of good projects to come, especially if he keeps the same dedication to telling charming, intriguing stories.