I'm a big fan of all 'magic academies' in any regards, in both book and film form: Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, Charlie Bone, amongst others. Unlike the previous three, I went into this without any prior knowledge of the franchise. Imagine Harry Potter mixing in Narnia for this.
It's got spirit, the potential for the series and obvious draw are there. The effects and setting are great too, on par with American production - you could even see what was happening in the darker scenes.
This film falls when it comes to story sadly. It's a mess with little consistency. Sure, I understood the broad strokes of the story and what the characters wished to do, however, that was it. Characters rarely, barring three exceptions, grew or made me fully attached to their progression. Locations and world building came out of nowhere and I got lost trying to remember which characters to care for.
Major potential and a contender to join the magical school success is cut short by odd editing choices and a poorly plotted story. Like others have mentioned, I'd be interested to see the director's cut.