critics consensus

Archenemy fails to follow through on some of its more interesting ideas, but Joe Manganiello's lead performance and the picture's infectious raw energy make for a fun action-adventure. Read critic reviews

Show all services

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Archenemy Videos

View All Videos (1)

Archenemy Photos

View All Photos (30)

Movie Info

Max Fist (Joe Manganiello) is a local drunk who claims to be a superhero from the planet Chromium. He tells anyone who will listen that he was pulled into a wormhole, falling through time and space, and dropped to earth without any of his powers. No one pays any attention to Max except a teenager named Hamster (Skylan Brooks) who can’t get enough of Max’s stories. When Hamster and his sister (Zolee Griggs) get in trouble with a vicious drug syndicate led by The Manager (Glenn Howerton), Max takes to the streets as a brutal vigilante hellbent on proving himself as the hero no one believes him to be.

Genre:

mystery and thriller, action
Original Language:

English
Director:

Adam Egypt Mortimer
Producer:

Joe Manganiello, Nick Manganiello, Daniel Noah, Kim Sherman, Lisa Whalen, Elijah Wood
Writer:

Adam Egypt Mortimer
Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 11, 2020 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Dec 11, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA):

$119.4K
Runtime:

1h 30m
Production Co:

Legion M, Metrol Technology, SpectreVision, Head Gear Films, 3:59, Almost Never Films Inc.

Cast & Crew

Joe Manganiello
Max Fist

Skylan Brooks
Hamster

Zolee Griggs
Indigo

Paul Scheer
Krieg

Amy Seimetz
Cleo

Glenn Howerton
The Manager

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Archenemy

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (13)

Small, imperfectly formed but quite entertaining all the same...

February 17, 2021 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Leslie Felperin
Guardian
Archenemy might have worked better if it was a straight adaptation of classic deconstructionist caper The Maxx.

December 12, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Richard Whittaker
Austin Chronicle
Rather improbably, and in part due to Joe Manganiello's very committed performance as Max, the movie does build up its own slightly trippy head of steam.

December 11, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Glenn Kenny
RogerEbert.com
"Archenemy" aims for complexity by opening a door between worlds, but neither of them have any dimension.

December 11, 2020 | Full Review…

Dennis Harvey
Variety
A messily subversive maybe-superhero film.

December 11, 2020 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
A critique of post-millennial journalism is one of several ideas raised but mostly abandoned in this genre pastiche, which never really coalesces despite some promising elements.

December 10, 2020 | Full Review…

John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter
It's a movie that dares to do something different to stand out in a crowded marketplace and that's worthy of praise but, sadly, there's nothing overly super about it.

March 5, 2021 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Buffy de Latour
SciFiNow
Archenemy is an entertaining and subversive action/superhero film that has an interesting premise. What it lacks in terms of writing, it makes up for in production design and the performances of Joe Manganiello and Paul Scheer.

March 1, 2021 | Full Review…

Lauren Miles
Flickering Myth
Although the film's limitations are clear, it has an essential integrity and flair which are likely to make it a favourite of genre cinema clubs and a great choice for small retrospectives.

February 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Jennie Kermode
Eye for Film
A change of direction for Adam Egypt Mortimer: a film about heroes and purpose, blending gritty crime action with comic-book animation.

February 18, 2021 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Alix Turner
Ready Steady Cut
Archenemy is a lively, kaleidoscopic romp with a compelling premise and some fine performances, However this is a film where a deeper dive would have made all the difference.

February 10, 2021 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Daniel Goodwin
HeyUGuys
"Continues Mortimer's win streak and proves he's far more than just a horror director."

January 22, 2021 | Rating: 8.5/10 | Full Review…

Grant Hermanns
ComingSoon.net