Vengeance is one of those movies that I went into with zero expectations but ended up having a truly fantastic time with. I will admit that what brought me to this movie was Jason Blum being a producer and the movie being released under the Blumhouse name. Blumhouse is my favorite movie studio and I tend to give anything they are associated with a chance.
How to Download Vengeance (2022)
At some point, you will be able to download this film from a digital platform such as Apple TV. Click on the Download button at the end of this review to check the current availability.
The Movie Review
Another thing that is pretty neat about the movie is that the main character, Ben is played by B.J Novak. As well as being the main star, B.J Novak also wrote and directed the movie and this would actually be his directorial debut. I always thought that he was a lot of fun in The Office and seeing him grow into a real filmmaker is really cool.
I would say that Vengeance is best described as a whodunit/dark comedy type of movie. Ben is a New Yorker who has a podcast and is a writer and he is looking for something to take his career to the next level. A girl that Ben hooked up with called, Abby dies and people are saying that it is a homicide.
She lives in West Texas and Ben is asked by her brother to help find out who killed her. Ben travels to West Texas in order to find out what happened to Abby and perhaps write a story and move along his career at the same time. The way this all unfolds is fantastic and leads to some legit hilarious moments.
A huge part of the fun of Vengeance for me was the fish out of water kind of thing we had going on. The people of West Texas have very different values to Ben’s New York values and seeing him be so unaware of this was very well done. I really think that B.J Novak is a very underrated actor and hopefully this movie will help people see how talented he is.
Now, speaking of talent, my favorite character in this movie was Ashton Kutcher who plays a cowboy type called Quinten. It may be just me, but Ashton Kutcher really seems to not be in as much stuff as he was so seeing him here really surprised me. Not just because he was “in the movie”, but because he stole every scene he was in!
As the movie progresses, we get to see some fantastic character interactions here. The way that Ben realizes what probably happened to Abby and that his feelings for her were not that strong, but could still lead to him furthering his career adds a lot of depth to the overall story. I know that it is the kind of thing that does not sound all that exciting, but it is the kind of movie that keeps you glued to the screen the whole time you are watching it.
As I said at the start of this review, I went into Vengeance not expecting a great deal, but I was very entertained. I had so much fun with the movie, I had to have texted at least ten people after, telling them that they have to go and see this movie! If you are looking for a smart, funny, and well-written and acted black comedy, be sure to give this movie a watch, I am sure you will enjoy it!
