Barely Lethal – Movie Review
Director: Kyle Newman
Writer: John D’Arco (Screenplay)
Cast
- Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee)
- Samuel L Jackson (Deep Blue Sea)
- Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four)
- Sophie Turner (Do Revenge)
- Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)
Plot: A teenage special ops agent coveting a “normal” adolescent fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. She quickly learns that surviving the treacherous waters of high school is more challenging than international espionage.
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Barely Lethal starts when teenage assassin 83 (Steinfeld) starts to question what she might be missing in growing up. While her instructor Hardman (Jackson) continues to put her on a mission, she decides to fake her own death. 83 becomes Megan and enters the high school system, trying to play into all the stereotypes.
Megan starts to get used to high school life, however, Hardman locates her. He agrees to let her stay for a limited time until their latest threat Victoria Knox (Alba) has escaped. Megan ends up putting her new friends’ lives at risk, but can her skills stop them from getting hurt.
Verdict on Barely Lethal
Barely Lethal is an action comedy that follows a teenage assassin that decides she wants to experience high school life. However, she finds high school more difficult than expected but adapts quickly. This is until her past starts to catch up with her leaving her facing a difficult decision.
The movie does a good job of twisting the environment. We are used to seeing somebody taken from a high school world and taught about a secret agent world, instead of an agent learning about high school. This gives the movie a refreshing feeling as Hailee Steinfeld is a natural in this role.
The negative comes from the fact that it never feels like they are facing a threat. Despite keep referring to Knox being dangerous, it never feels like she could do anything dangerous. The high school research is fun (Mean Girls, Bring It On and others), using movies through the years to hopefully fit in easily.
Final Thoughts –Barely Lethal is a fun action-packed high school movie.
