The School for Good and Evil
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): October 19, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
6
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
76
PolygonPetrana RadulovicOct 19, 2022
Designed to fit, then subvert and smash, archetypes, the two leads of The School for Good and Evil and their strong friendship turn the movie from fantastical fun to memorable delight. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichOct 20, 2022
Fans of Soman Chainani’s popular fantasy series might feel as if a giant bone bird swooped out of the sky and carried them to streaming heaven, but not even Charlize Theron’s Mad Hatter cosplay or Michelle Yeoh’s cameo as a professor of smiling will be enough to enchant a wider audience to such a painfully overworked saga of friendship. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussOct 19, 2022
The real magic of “School” resides in its stars. Caruso loses Sophie’s moral direction in deliciously fun yet behaviorally alarming ways. Wylie finds Aggie’s righteousness without damaging the character’s cunning intellect; a scene involving “wish fish” has no business being as moving as Wylie makes it. Together, the young actors take this project beyond good and evil, into the realm of something real. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 19, 2022
While the talented and versatile director Paul Feig (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Bridesmaids,” “A Simple Favor”) displays an admirably ambitious reach, and there are some impressive visuals, The School for Good and Evil never quite finds its footing. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJack SmartOct 19, 2022
Fans of Chainani’s books may relish seeing his inventiveness and heartfelt storytelling on a (green) screen. If only Feig had the latitude to prioritize his actors, rather than his VFX team, as those storytellers. Read full review
42
The PlaylistMarya E. GatesOct 19, 2022
Mildly diverting from time to time due to its beautiful production design, The School for Good and Evil is mostly an unmitigated slog, filled with underdeveloped characters, absolutely terrible dialogue, and a world that feels both completely ripped off from better things and unnecessarily complex. Read full review
40
The New York TimesMaya PhillipsOct 19, 2022
The film doesn’t have the space to expand all of its ideas and gracefully unfold its plot, which is full of so many narrative twists and reversals that The School for Good and Evil equates to a whole TV season untidily packed into a feature film. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 11, 2023
Theron and Washington vamp this monstrosity up and almost never let on that they know this project didn’t really work out. That sets an example for the many younger players in the cast, who do their best to play more than this scene’s stunning costume. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyOct 19, 2022
School is endlessly talky, with dialogue that has the consistency of melted licorice (red or black, your choice). The one thing to be said for Theodore Shapiro’s muscularly egregious score is that the music makes it marginally easier to miss what the characters are saying. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireOct 19, 2022
All of these potentially effective elements—as well as a stellar cast that includes Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, and Michelle Yeoh—get swallowed up by the overwhelming reliance on CGI-infused action sequences. They’re both empty and endless, and too often leave you wondering what’s going on and why we should bother. Read full review
35
Paste MagazineKathy Michelle ChacónOct 21, 2022
The School for Good and Evil is juvenile, over-the-top and campy in all the worst ways. It’s too busy trying to combine TikTok fashion with Top 40 music and popular children’s fantasy films to create any visual, musical or narrative distinction for itself. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayOct 21, 2022
The teen-targeted fantasy-romance The School for Good and Evil is an exhaustingly long, overstuffed movie that probably would’ve worked better as a TV series. Read full review
30
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 20, 2022
Despite a few touching scenes in which Sophie and Agatha reassert their bond amidst handsome suiters and devious spells, Good And Evil ends up feeling both too busy and too underdeveloped to let their relationship blossom. There’s no happily ever after awaiting audiences at the film’s end. Read full review
30
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 19, 2022
Sure, it’s a “Harry Potter” rip-off, but had Feig taken the time to let the film breathe, it might have stood on its own. Unlike Hogwarts, where fresh surprises lay waiting around every corner, this school seems to exist in concept only — and not a particularly good one at that. Read full review
20
The TelegraphRobbie CollinOct 29, 2022
If we’re reaching for something, anything nice to say here – and we absolutely are – Theron’s black trouser suit and trench coat is a strong look. Read full review
20
EmpireJohn NugentOct 19, 2022
An absolute shambles of a fantasy folly. Overlong, undercooked, and clogged with enough clichés that even its teen target audience will feel disrespected. Read full review
20
The GuardianCharles BramescoOct 19, 2022
As this narrative advances out of the YA-industrial complex and into the harsher environment of general scrutiny, however, a whole curriculum’s worth of faults become visible to an audience not so readily pandered to, who want for more than worn-out teen-lit tropes to fill some inner content maw. Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyOct 19, 2022
This is a uniquely tiresome slog — madly over-plotted, thuddingly derivative, insanely overlong and slathered in a big symphonic score that strives to infuse momentum into a saga with minimal emotional stakes. Read full review
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