Netflix Review | School for Good and Evil: Paul Feig’s fantasy is full of cheesy cliches, but it might appeal to fairy tale fans

From the classic “kiss of true love” to absolute moral dualism, The School of Good and Evil is a real recycling of magical clichés. Like a quilt, the new Netflix Original is a tangle of clippings from some of the most classic Brothers Grimm stories, through to the endless tales developed by Walt Disney and Disney Animation between the 1940s and 1970s. by Soman Chainani, Paul Feig’s fantasy is a mix between performative editing and uninventive narrative, reproducing hit lines that have already been replicated dozens of times in so many other much better feature films.

But the director and co-writer tries to put his fingerprints on the production, playing with a colorful and often pastel-heavy aesthetic as he overuses the visual effects in every possible scene. But even this jumble of information, scattered in flamboyant costumes and over-the-top, flamboyant hairstyles, can’t distract us from the fact that The School for Good and Evil is indeed exhausting – being too much even by Feig’s standards. With a long-winded plot that often spins in circles, the film has a huge underbelly in its second act, dragging the pace and repeating the same initial premise as soon as it appears in its opening minutes.

With a story that pulls together all sorts of fairy tale mannerisms, morals, and stereotypes, the Netflix original doesn’t do well as an homage to the fantasy genre. Trying to rely on the proposal of the metalanguage, the production gets confused in its stereotyped repetitions – thinking that they are enough to compose the scenario -, losing our attention in an hour of film, at the end of its first act. But even if The School for Good and Evil isn’t worth two and a half hours of your time, there’s an undeniable truth that Feig can fit into Netflix’s programming schedule there.

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Dynamic, filled with somewhat pointless theatrical battle scenes, and aesthetically appealing to the eyes, the fantasy can delight younger audiences, though its cast of Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, and Laurence Fishburne was aimed at millennials. Requiring nothing from audiences other than a lot of patience for almost two and a half hours of filming, the feature film may catch the attention of Gen Z, becoming a fun experience about Prince Charming, the battles of teenage ego and wild adventures.

As an unfinished, over-the-top sketch of the beloved Harry Potter franchise, The School for Good and Evil will easily resonate with younger audiences drawn to the information overload and craziness of the subplots. projected on the screen. But if only Feig and David Magee had let the plot take its natural course with ease and composure, perhaps Netflix’s fable could have burst that same bubble that JK Rowling and Potter handled in the 2000s, with the debut of the fascinating The Philosopher’s. Peter in the halls.

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