Netflix’s film “Do Revenge” quickly became a topic of online discussion after its anticipated release in mid-September. The movie follows Eleanor Levetan and Drea Torres, two unlikely friends, who scheme to enact revenge on each other’s enemies. Despite extensive preparations, not everything goes according to plan and a secret history between the two is revealed. With a cast full of well-known actors, including Camila Mendes and Sophie Turner, the movie has been compared to early 2000s dramatic comedies, gaining satisfactory outpour from its young adult audience.

“I really liked it – it reminded me a lot of early 1990s to 2000s movies, like ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘10 Things I Hate About You,’ so I really loved that because it was modern,” Audrey Wilkerson (11) said. “It made it better because I feel like a lot of modern day teen movies, they try too hard.”

The film creates an interesting fusion by including modern technology and vernacular along with inclusions of classic scenes. The incorporated parallels to iconic film moments reminded the audience of their old favorite movies.  Even though “Do Revenge” stirred nostalgic feelings within its viewers, the cast was uniquely set to this movie. Along with Camila Mendes, the addition of Maya Hawke as a main character was a selling point to many who considered watching.

“Robin from Stranger Things is more of the adorable side character,” Allie Maury (11) said, “With the twist in the end, [Maya Hawke] did a really good job playing Eleanor I think because I have never rooted for someone so twisted before.” 

Audiences enjoyed the characters played by stars of Riverdale and Stranger Things, however, throughout the cries of support for the trending movie, there were some concerns amongst viewers. 

“It did feel like millennials wrote the movie, you know, it’s not the most accurate portrayal of Gen-Z high school experiences.” Maury said.

Despite most Hollywood movies being criticized as unrealistic, the contrasting details were very evident throughout “Do Revenge.” While most high school students lack money and worry about being accepted to college, all of the characters are upper-class students accepted to an Ivy League, if not multiple. Though the characters briefly mention working hard to attain this goal, the film makes no showing of the work, but instead focuses on their popularity.

“They’re all rich and stuff, so it’s very different and much more dramatic.” Wilkerson said.

Although it was easy to follow, the plot was not extremely relatable to the majority of high school students. But despite any criticisms, the new movie has been generally enjoyed so far, with high ratings throughout online postings, such as an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. A plot twist between the main characters holds the attention until the very end – a characteristic that not every movie can earn.

“At first, I thought it was just going to be a chick-flick, and it kind of was, but at the end it just got a lot more interesting, and I think it’s a commentary on how different circles treat each other,” Maury said. “It’s an interesting way of looking at how teenagers behave.”