Barely Lethal

Action, Comedy

Available on VOD: 2 februari 2016

Director: Kyle Newman

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Ender's Game, Pitch Perfect 2), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, Kingsman - The Secret Service, The Other Guys ), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Jessica Alba (Sin City I & II, Fantastic Four, Entourage, Little Fockers), Jaime King (Sin City I & II, Dokter Hart, Pearl Harbor)

Yearning for a "normal" adolescence, Megan (Hailee Steinfeld), a 16-year-old international assassin trained at the Prescott School for Girls, fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. When her disgruntled training master Maxwell Hardman (Samuel L. Jackson) and a dangerous arms dealer Victoria Knox (Jessica Alba) track her down, Megan finds herself with more extracurriculars than any teenager could handle.

• Indiewire.com: Criticwire Survey - The Best Non-Top 10 Films of 2015: It's a dastardly funny comedy, and, in what has to go down as the actor's best year ever, it features Samuel L Jackson as Steinfeld's drill-sergeant-like covert handler. Newman gives the movie a "Mean Girls" touch — and a wit that really is killer.
• Examiner.com:the tone is firmly tongue-in-cheek ... Steinfeld gets Megan's social naiveté and desire for acceptance. She's exactly the kind of girl we cheer for in all of those old Hughes films. We want her to remain herself, become popular anyway, and get the guy she deserves to be with.
• Blu-ray.com: a quick pace and a jokey superspy atmosphere, almost resembling a "Spy Kids" sequel in the manner the effort merges cartoonish action with broad performances.
• CBSlocal.com: I liked Steinfeld in this film, as she has a commanding presence and makes the shift easily from the tough agent to the lost high school girl, at almost a moment's notice. She has great chemistry with both Jackson and Alba, making their roles believable.
• Soundonsight.com: Steinfeld and Turner are superb casting choices, possibly the best two actresses in the world that director Kyle Newman (Fanboys) could have gotten for those particular roles. Although Steinfeld has been in some clunkers since her Oscar nomination, she's still a great actress, and is fully committed here.
• The-other-view.com: The story is rock solid, easy to follow, straightforward. It's kinda fun and a total throwback to the 80s/90s high school comedy films, with some decent action tossed in.
• Themovienetwork.com: Barely Lethal is fun, funny, and an all around enjoyable film. It combines aspects of teen comedies that would make John Hughes proud with action movie sensibilities.
• VillageVoice.com: Barely Lethal's combination of bawdy humor and earnest affection for its high-school-aged protagonists is surprisingly well-balanced.
• TheHollywoodnews.com: It's great to see Newman, D'Arco and co. attempting to mix things up with something a little bit different.
• Empire.com: this high-school actioner ghosts by on its charm and sense of fun.
• Cine-vue./com: The movie is brimming with terrific one-liners. That sense of humour carries the film a long way; Steinfeld is a natural at comedy, and she is ably supported by a strong cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Mann, Jessica Alba, and Disney starlet Dove Cameron.