Review Academy of Good and Evil: a Netflix fantasy

One of the new proposals of the Netflix platform of the month of October is the film The Academy of Good and Evil, available from the 19th of the month for viewing. It is always very difficult for me to tell something that I did not like very much, especially because I was very attracted by the trailer of the product made in Netflix, but you will be the judge at the end of reading this article. First confession, at the beginning I traded the production for a series and after viewing this title I can say that maybe it would have been better.

Premise!

Before starting this review, I must warn you, don’t expect a 5 star movie. No complete immersion in the fantasy world full of soul, a function that this genre usually performs, transporting the viewer outside of reality. It could all be summed up in one word, simple fruition. But let’s go into detail.

Plot The Academy of Good and Evil

Two friends, Agatha e Sophie, one opposite to the other, both aesthetically and temperamentally, they are linked from an early age. They have become mutual support in what is their decidedly unfortunate life. Their fortunes change when they are taken to the Academy of Good and Evil where they will find themselves lined up on opposite sides of an epic battle.

Let’s go into the enchanted world of fantasy The Academy of Good and Evil

The film is based on a series of fantasy novels by Soman Chainani, precisely six with the addition of an extra, published starting from 2013. The success of the books is not to be underestimated, as opposed to the film which unfortunately turned out to be a bit empty, especially in the contents. Make sure you have plenty of time to watch the entire film because its duration is really important, precisely 2h and 27 minutes.

The story of this film begins years ago when its rights were initially bought by Universal, which later abandoned the project. And this is where Netflix comes in, which wanted to focus on a series of films that recreate a fandom and a saga that could be similar to some great fantasy success. At least these were their plans… failed miserably as far as I’m concerned. As a great, indeed a great lover, of the world of fairy tales this was a hard blow to accept but let’s continue gradually.

At the direction we find Paul Freig, which has repeatedly “delighted” us with productions that went slightly above acceptable, this was yet another confirmation. The synopsis of this film revolves around the definition of inner good and evil that is represented in a simplistic and not at all innovative way, referring above all to its connotation and its aesthetic development. Although it is true that the Academy of Good and Evil does not want to be a rhetorical film but rather a production directed at more adolescent age groups and tends to lead the entire flow of the plot towards something extremely light. One of the few positive notes, certainly the costumes and some realizations of CGI characters such as the sharp-toothed fairies. We shouldn’t have complained much about the cast either, since within it we certainly find prominent figures who have great experience within the entertainment world such as Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh e Laurence Fishburne. The first of her, in the guise of a (slightly) bad director of her Evil Academy, her respective nemesis instead Kerry Washington, director of the opposite academy.

We could say that the final purpose of the film is not so much to reproach, since albeit in a simplistic way, it carries on the importance of a pure bond as is that of friendship. The viewer, through the vision of the film, could ask himself about his personal definition of good and evil and how much the perception of him is actually influenced by the aesthetic side of being. What is behind the evil and why do we get to chase it? What is behind the good and the latter is an end in itself?

I’m sorry, although you love the style of the film (and its beautiful costumes) I can’t promote it. Academy of good and evil, you get a 5 and a half. Postponed to September!