Vengeance: reviews

What the critics say average 6.8 from 62 outlets

• 10 VarietyOwen Gleiberman In Vengeance, B.J. Novak proves a born storyteller with the rare gift of using a film to say something that intoxicates us. Read
• 10 The Seattle TimesSoren Andersen It's a detective story. It's an insightful commentary on the state of us, which is to say us, the U.S., in this divided, disjointed, distracted age. It's a comedy, sharp and frequently hilarious. It is, above all, consistently surprising. Read
• 8.8 The Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan Vengeance is an arrestingly smart, funny and affecting take on a slice of the American zeitgeist, one in which both the divisions between and connections with our fellow citizens are brought into sharp relief. Read
• 8.3 IndiewireDavid Ehrlich Even when the jokes miss the mark or the central mystery seems too easily solved, Vengeance is sustained by the question of what its characters mean to each other; a question asked sweetly but shrouded by an ever-growing darkness that allows the film to wander into dangerous territory by the end. Read
• 8.3 HitfixVince Mancini Vengeance may have a sort of old-fashioned setup, but its takes are razor sharp, such that when the comedy starts to turn earnest, and the story begins to evolve from fish-out-of-water comedy into more straight-up potboiler (Jason Blum having produced it and whatnot), it doesn't feel like an apology or a digression. It feels like a deepening of themes. Read
• 8.0 The Arizona RepublicAlexis Potter A dark comedy thriller that could be a “Black Mirror” episode and leaves you with the same existential turmoil as Bo Burham’s “Inside.” Read
• 8.0 Los Angeles TimesKatie Walsh In Vengeance, Novak sets his sights on lampooning the big-city media types who go chasing stories in middle America and return with observations from the “flyover states” that are usually condescending, preachy, or inauthentic, and in doing so, he finds the humor, and something honest too. Read
• 8.0 StarburstSol Harris Vengeance is far from perfect. It's messy, but it's also a remarkable debut that should leave no doubt that Novak will one day write and direct a masterpiece should he continue making films. Read
• 8.0 Shadows on the WallRich Cline Beginning as a fast-talking comedy with something dark lurking underneath, this film sends its central character into an amusingly alien culture before shifting into a mystery thriller. Read
• 8.0 Pop Culture ReviewsBrittany Patrice Witherspoon Though the script ventures into the unrealistic with its over-the-top Texas spirit and overused philosophical messages embedded throughout, Vengeance gets one important thing right. It finds a way to compel viewers emotionally... Read
• 8.0 SalonGary M. Kramer “Vengeance” is as entertaining as it is offbeat, and it showcases Novak's talents in front of and behind the camera well. Read
• 8.0 CinemagaviaGuillermo Sánchez Ferrer If you liked The Office and you want a film that is endearing and cynical at the same time, this is your film. A gem that, with no artifice and no great fuss, is able to win over your heart. Read
• 8.0 The TimesKevin Maher Reinvigorating a tired formula about city slickers floundering in heartland America, Novak casts himself as Ben, an aspiring New York podcaster who drops into dusty West Texas to attend the funeral of his casual online fling Abilene Shaw. Read
• 7.8 The Austin ChronicleTrace Sauveur It makes for an interesting dissection of an American cultural divide in a way that is both thoughtful and funny. Read
• 7.5 The PlaylistJason Bailey Some of Novak's camera sense, particularly early on, betrays his sitcom roots, and he commits the classic rookie mistake of going on three or so scenes too long, tying up inconsequential loose ends. But he crafts a good mystery, consistently engaging and entertaining, and the thoughtful turns of the last confrontation are sly, smart, and knowing. Read
• 7.5 The Film StageJohn Fink Vengeance is a refreshing, self-aware take on a man who sets out to define a societal problem and is met with evolving redefinition. Read
• 7.5 The Boston GlobeNatalia Winkelman In “Vengeance,” Novak proves his chops both as an adept filmmaker and skillful satirist of contemporary mores. Read
• 7.5 San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle Vengeance is unexpected and, in the best way, weird. In his first film as a writer-director, B.J. Novak takes familiar elements, but puts them together in ways that are original and unexpected. Even when the plot turns go off the deep end, it's impossible not to appreciate Novak's audacity. Read
• 7.5 Chicago Sun-TimesRichard Roeper It's mesmerizing work in a film that constantly surprises us, and mostly in a good way. Read
• 7.5 Original-CinJim Slotek Vengeance is a movie whose dry humour carries its message well and even has its sweet moments. The desolate desert location hangs over everything, sometimes suggesting another planet peopled by humans. But given the movie's suggestion of the emptiness of city life, it may also suggest just another kind of desert. Read
• 7.5 ConsequenceLiz Shannon Miller While there's a lot about Vengeance to recommend it, it doesn't quite stick the landing, mostly because Ben's final choices fail to capture the complexity of what he's been investigating. Read
• 7.5 ReelViewsJames Berardinelli This Blumhouse production marries fish-out-of-water elements with some philosophical musings and offbeat characters that might remind viewers of (Robert) Altman lite. The ending feels a little forced, as if the filmmakers felt that not providing some kind of punch might disappoint viewers, but there are enough little pleasures along the way to more than compensate. Read
• 7.5 ABC NewsPeter Travers At its best, the seriously funny and fierce “Vengeance” exposes an America broken by disconnection. Novak digs deep beneath the glib surface of his mystery thriller to find a responsive empathy aching to get out. He's a filmmaker to watch. Read
• 7.5 InSession FilmMaxance Vincent Even with a flawed story and some underdeveloped characters, Vengeance shines through a hilarious script and a colorful bunch of Shaws that protagonist Ben interacts with. Read
• 7.5 Ty Burr's Watch ListTy Burr A first feature, solid and smart and funny, with a few blind spots and an ending that feels wrong even if Novak wanted it to feel wrong. Read
• 7.5 Chicago ReaderCatey Sullivan It's a story about a storyteller who is creating a story about how mythology (stories) are created. It is also an acute reminder of how easy it can be to hide secrets in plain sight. Read
• 7.5 Beyond the Cinerama DomeTina Kakadelis Vengeance, more than anything, is a plea for life to have meaning without being distilled into content generation. It's a plea for presentness, a willingness to embrace regrets, and a promise to do better. Read
• 7.0 SlashfilmHoai-Tran Bui Vengeance manages to balance its self-effacing and sentimental tones in a way that is extremely satisfying and entertaining to watch. Read
• 7.0 TimeStephanie Zacharek Vengeance is a small but ambitious film, and the murder mystery is its weakest element: Novak has so many threads going that he doesn't quite know how to tie them up. But he's made a shrewd satire that's a pleasure to watch. Read
• 7.0 The Wall Street JournalKyle Smith Mr. Novak comes up with so much funny dialogue and so many intriguing ideas that I mostly forgive the creakiness of his plotting. The basic mechanics of the whodunit seem to elude him, and he leaves important matters dangling at the end. Read
• 7.0 Rolling StoneK. Austin Collins A good thing about Vengeance is that Ben is played by B. J. Novak, who also wrote and directed the movie, and who's succeeded at coming up with a project that matches his comedic style: likably unlikable, the kind of prick you'd still watch a movie about. Read
• 7.0 Frame RatedAmelia Harvey Vengeance is an uneven but generally enjoyable fish-out-of-water comedy about disjointed 21st-century America. Read
• 7.0 Cinéfilo SerialSamantha Schuster A fine debut by actor, director and screenwriter B.J. Novak, who manages to deliver a film of suspense, humour and reflection on our society and the essence of human beings. Read
• 6.7 The A.V. ClubBrent Simon Among some of the movie's heady notions the movie attempts to assay are the idea and consequences of people living in their own highly individualized spaces; the question of whether any truth can be embedded in pure intuition; and the empty distractions of collapsing civilization, in which culture is relegated to increasingly meaningless fragmentary morsels. Read
• 6.7 Fox 10 PhoenixCaroline Siede “Vengeance” ultimately turns out to be a bit of morality play with a moral that feels unearned. Still, the journey to getting there is unique enough (and funny enough) to recommend. Read
• 6.7 Crooked MarqueeRobert Daniels Novak's Vengeance, a well-meaning satire seeking to humanize an oft-misunderstood portion of the country, treads best when critiquing the blind spots held by outsiders, even while stumbling over an overbaked ending. Read
• 6.3 Slant MagazineChuck Bowen Though its lack of emotional escalation could be read as intentional, Vengeance is ground to a repetitive halt by B.J. Novak's preaching. Read
• 6.3 Roger EbertMatt Zoller Seitz A jumbled, fitfully amusing, occasionally fascinating effort, but one that shows promise even when it's stumbling over its ambition and falling prey to some of the same stereotypes about “red” and “blue” (or reactionary and progressive) America that it keeps intimating that Americans need to get beyond. Read
• 6.3 Movie NationRoger Moore Vengeance lets you appreciate its ambition and wince at its obvious overreach. Read
• 6.3 Reel Film ReviewsDavid Nusair Vengeance does, for the most part, come off as a solid debut from Novak that contains plenty of intriguing, interesting ideas sprinkled throughout its narrative. Read
• 6.3 Cine Sin FronterasRene Sanchez More effective for its comic elements than for its qualities as a thriller, Vengeance is a competent first feature that leaves us curious enough to see Novak's next job as a writer and director. Read
• 6.0 New York TimesA.O. Scott Vengeance, while earnest, thoughtful and quite funny in spots, demonstrates just how difficult it can be to turn political polarization and culture-war hostility into a credible narrative. Its efforts shouldn't be dismissed, even though it's ultimately too clever for its own good, and maybe not quite as smart as it thinks it is. Read
• 6.0 Screen RantBen Kendrick The movie asks a lot of questions and juggles a lot of ideas, most of them good, but key pieces don't stick their landing - undermining the overall impact of what Novak, clearly, intends to say. Read
• 6.0 The ObserverWendy Ide It's mildly amusing stuff that delivers no surprises, but may muster a few laughs. Read
• 6.0 Coming SoonJonathan Sim This film has a lot to say about our perception of things and how our biases skew how we feel. The result is a little blander than it could have been, but it ultimately works as a smart, decently written debut from Novak. Read
• 6.0 The TelegraphTim Robey It's caustic, clever, and shallow entertainment, usually all at once. Read
• 6.0 Daily MailBrian Viner Some of this is very funny, sometimes the comedy feels forced, and sometimes, not entirely successfully, it is abandoned altogether. Cautiously recommended. Read
• 6.0 NOW TorontoRadheyan Simonpillai Vengeance has philosophical ambitions – trying to deconstruct modern storytelling and what it says about us as a society – that are greater than its grasp. Though I did enjoy watching the movie chase its own tail with that pursuit. Read
• 6.0 Culture MixCarla Hay Vengeance makes some of its cultural stereotypes too broad and heavy-handed, and the movie's ending could have been better. Overall, the story can hold viewers' interest, as long as there's tolerance for what the movie is saying about personal biases. Read
• 5.9 PolygonJesse Hassenger The movie isn't easy to dismiss. Its awkward comedy is often funny, and its shadowy mystery is compelling, because Abilene's death does become more of an enigma to Ben as he learns more about her. Read
• 5.8 Entertainment WeeklyLeah Greenblatt Novak, who spent years refining the squirrelly ticks of his self-regarding salesman Ryan on nine seasons of The Office, isn't a demonstrably different dude here. His callow-millennial act — and the navel-gazing vagaries of modern content culture — make fertile ground for satire, and many of the jokes here do find their soft targets. But it can also feel hollow and exhausting in main-character movie form. Read
• 5.0 The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore Mild fish-out-of-water humor and an element of mystery may satisfy fans of Novak's work on the again-popular The Office, but fall short of proving he has much potential as a big-screen auteur. Read
• 5.0 ObserverOliver Jones While Vengeance doesn't always rise to the level of its ambitions, it is admirable to see Novak spit acid towards the privilege systems that make careers like his possible...But by repeating the same reductive and representational mistakes of the media it so pointedly criticizes, Novak's film unwittingly becomes yet another part of the problem. Read
• 5.0 ColliderRoss Bonaime There's promise, but Vengeance at times feels like a West Texas version of Under the Silver Lake, but without the focus and care. Unfortunately, Ben's editor was right, Vengeance is more a theory than a story. Read
• 5.0 VultureAlison Willmore In fitting with its main character's desperate aversion to vulnerability, Vengeance squirms away from any satirical or emotional territory that might genuinely hurt. Read
• 5.0 New York PostJohnny Oleksinski Novak's forever-skill as an actor is likability, and that approachable magnetism is on display here. What doesn't work in this otherwise naturalistic movie are the punchlines he's written for himself. Too planned and stilted, not terribly funny. Read
• 5.0 The Globe and MailSarah Hagi There are occasional moments when the film is so close to feeling like it is accomplishing its goals – to be seen as a sharp and comedic critique of the cost of storytelling, with a fun little whodunnit at its core – but it never quite gets there. Read
• 5.0 The Detroit NewsAdam Graham Like the tale Ben's investigating, “Vengeance” is a story in constant search of itself, and it comes up well short of satisfying. Read
• 5.0 Decine21Pablo de Santiago A curious and original black comedy, written and directed with talent and very well acted. Recommended. Read
• 4.0 The WrapSimon Abrams The scattershot new media satire Vengeance might have been merely a toothless provocation replete with both-sides false equivalences were it not so well-scripted and well-directed on a scene-to-scene basis. Read
• 4.0 The GuardianBenjamin Lee When a writer-director of some undeniable talent throws so much at the wall, it's inevitable that elements will stick and in Vengeance, there's just about enough to make us curious to see what happens when Novak learns to tighten his focus. Read
• 4.0 CineVueChristopher Machell As a comedy about contemporary American society it feels weirdly anachronistic, with an uninspired story told with little urgency or novelty. Read