Quite a good statement on the all too common human shortcoming of taking the easy route instead of finding the true value in something (as illustrated through [spoiler] stereotyping, conspiracy theories, objectifying women and AI generated music playlists [/spoiler]).
It’s well acted, the characters are all flawed and interesting, pretty funny, engaging from beginning to end and surprisingly substantive.
On the flip side I did find it a little predictable. If you pick up on the theme I just mentioned, you know exactly how the plot and its characters will develop over the course of the runtime.
I also found the filmmaking pretty average, the cinemtaography and music are basic and at times uninspired. Definitely a point where you can tell it’s a first time director with room for growth.
However, for as far as debut features go, this is one of the more exciting ones in recent memory.

7/10

Starts slow and makes you wonder where it's going.
Metro guys with a testosterone deficiency like Ben Manalowitz are just not my cup of tea.
Unlikely events and decisions his character makes do not help here.
But all in all, I liked the Texas vibe and where the story reveals deeper meanings..
Ashton Kutcher plays his character well and believable.
Don't watch this when you expect a thriller or action movie.
But I guess that's obvious by now!

I didn't think I'd enjoy this in the beginning, but I unexpectedly LOVED it. This movie has so many great lines. The ending was the cherry on top.

[spoiler]"Everything means everything, so nothing means anything."[/spoiler]

Vengeance was touching film filled with humor and heart. I laughed at quite a few of the jokes, but most were just kind of funny situations, somewhat Office liked, which I really dug. Performances were all pretty good. There was definitely a lot of social commentary poking fun at right wing extremists, which I thought was funny social commentary, but some might take offense to it. The pacing in the movie was a little rough, it took me a while to get hooked on it. The ending takes a hard left turn that did not really land for me. It didn't hurt the experience but it left me confused and felt forced.

Score: 73%
Verdict: Good

I didn’t pay much attention in the first half of the movie but I really liked it. Everything Ben said at the Whataburger is what many people think about TX and the South. Some of those things are true but it’s so much more is complex. I loved how things ended. No regrets.

Solid watch. The family that is the focus of the movie is lovely and they really push the movie forward. Wasn't a huge fan of the ending.

as ironic as it is, this comedy about a pretentious guy living in current day hook up culture ended up being a bit.. pretentious.
Although I wasn't coming in expecting slapstick comedy or very obvious jokes, some of the humour was just too dry and leaning a lot on stereotypes... It felt like it wasn't really a thriller and really is not a comedy, sounds like a mix of both that didn't achieve either. It's entertaining but feels vacant...
it is not bad, but it is not amazing either.

Vengeance is an excellent film. I wasn't sure what to expect but as it evolved I found it to be extremely charming - connecting with the idea of what is America? From the lead character to the family members, that make up most of the supporting cast. Boyd Holbrook needs more roles like this (instead of constantly being the villain).

More B. J. Novak writing and directing projects please.

Pretentious crap that pretends to not look down on the Texas mileau, while actually doing so the entire time. Slow paced with a story that never really draws you in.

This quirky comedy mystery doesn't hold up all the way to the end but for the most part, it's a fun watch with lots of chucklesome moments.

Ugh. Did John Green write this?

An independent film certainly not for everyone, you hate it or you like it.
There were a lot of Confucius dialogues with all great philosophical things and nonsense that gets you nowhere , everything is everything and nothing is everything and such lines like matrix 2 just to get you think but in true are stupid.

This is for a 4 but it gets a +1 as the ending was surprising, did not think he will go that way.

1 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
.5 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
1 / 1 writing
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting effect

0 / 1 misc

6.5 out of 10

Not the "smart" independent comedy I was expecting. To me this rivalled a Hallmark channel movie with it's uninteresting characters and cheesy nonsense lines that were intended to be thought provoking. Even though generally speaking it was meant to be "big city hot shot learns from small town folk", it still came off as arrogant as well as belittling to rural southerners, playing into the stereotype of them more or less being idiots ([spoiler]ie. the whole Whataburger conversation[/spoiler]). Had the writing been more slick the central plot would have been a lot more interesting.

Conceptually similar to Where the Crawdads Sing, where the novel and its plot are preponderant on the film itself. Perhaps the criticism on the Texan way of life can be savaged, but it is a bit ineffective, as people targeted, instead of taking conscience of their condition, would never see such movie preferring the blockbuster Spiderman.
The film overall can be seen, it is not terrible, but all the weaknesses would easily emerge and be noticeable.

Far from a perfect movie but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing was very clever, and I found myself invested in the characters. The first two thirds were absolutely fantastic. The ending didn't really line up for me.

I was impressed with Aston Kutcher. I really liked his "Recordings" speech.

boring as heck turned it off within 40 mins could not Handel no more

Surprised at how touching this is. It's also funny and introspective with a clever driving narrative. But it does end a bit too abruptly, and I can see how the final twist could be polarizing.

Great writing, quite a few truly great lines, and more than a little thoughtful exploration of what's going on these days. What keeps it from being great is the lazy, idiot, formulaic resolution.

Rhett recommended this movie Vengeance.

Went in completely blind and I really liked it. Some of it might be a bit on the nose but I still like what it is going for and there were enough chuckles and surprises. BJ Novak?! Who’d a thunk

Overall we enjoyed the movie. I'm currently in San Antonio and some of the Texas stuff was really funny. Story-wise it was good and kept me engaged. The last 5 minutes of the movie could have been a lot better though. It just didn't do it for me. I felt like the lost the last page of the script and just said screw it, well do this. It just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.

Not long into this movie it became clear that this movie is perfect for the lead actor. As it turns out this was not accidental: the lead wrote and directed the movie and everything seems to have his fingerprints on it. He is a perfect unlikeable character that we are nonetheless rooting for. For much of the film this movie reminded me of Rain Man in that the character was on a journey but in reality he was in a very different journey than the one that he thought he was on. The movie asks a ton of questions but doesn't beat the viewer over the head with them and never overstays its welcome. As the movie came closer to the end I was a little bit unsure of the resolution but ultimately it pulled it off. I think what surprised me more than anything about this movie is that Ashton Kutcher completely nails his role. The whole movie is extremely well done.

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It starts out as self-absorbed. Then you realize it is you who are self-absorbed. And then the ending impacts you more. Kudos, B.J.

Watched the movie just because of Novak. At the beginning thought what type of movie was it and that I weren't going to like it. 15 min after I was enjoying it. Such an awesome cast, good performances and perfect writing.

What a brilliant, little film!
Surprisingly funny, poignant, insightful, nihilist, political and self-aware.
It has something to say about everything and everyone: red-pillers, pop-pillers, right-wingers, pseudo-intellectuals, narcissists, content-creators and content-consumers.
A defining film for the individualistic, post-truth America/Western world of the 21th century.