Operation Avalanche

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1:49

Operation Avalanche

R

Released Sep 16, 2016

1h 34m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Recruited by the CIA in 1967, young filmmakers (Matt Johnson, Owen Williams) shoot footage of a fake moon landing after learning that NASA is losing the space race to the Russians.

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Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

"Operation Avalanche" is an inventive grab-bag of a film, a movie about making a movie that no one was supposed to know was a movie at all.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 1, 2016

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

That's one small step for Apollo 11 hoaxers, one giant leap for Matt Johnson.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 30, 2016

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Barry Hertz

Globe and Mail

Part mockumentary, party black comedy, part action-adventure and part cinematic dare, the movie is a bizarre, engrossing creation that will leave audiences either delighted or baffled, though never bored.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 30, 2016

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Jamie Healy

Radio Times

As the irreverent larks shift into more paranoid-thriller territory, the fanciful story becomes more engrossing, with an excitingly staged car chase looking convincingly like the real deal.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 30, 2024

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Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

A comic thriller that scratches the core of the most traditional conspiracies in the United States and fills the head of those who experience it with questions, unpleasant questions that, of course, provoke even darker answers. [Full review in Spanish]

Feb 8, 2023

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

There’s an actual political point to this besides scratching tantalizing alternate-history conspiracy theories and their allure, I couldn’t discern it. I’ll be there for his third film regardless.

Jan 18, 2023

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Paul F

I though the concept of the movie was excellent and looked forward to watching it. I appreciate the attempts for the 60s documentary filming style, but for me the characters were too modern and unconvincing. I found Matt Johnson rather irritating and struggled through hoping my opinion might change as the film progressed. I have read other reviews of this movie since and some state it was meant to be a part comedy/mockumentary but l didn't find it funny either. So it failed for me either way. Unfortunately it didn't and

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Lachlan C

Operation avalanche is a masterfully crafted film that keeps you on edge throughout, what starts off as lighthearted and quite comedic slowly but surely turns into scenes filled with paranoid tension, feeling as though you can't trust anyone on screen and the dark story the main characters find themselves in all lead to a heartstopping finale that is sure to leave you satisfied.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/10/23

Full Review

claudia h

Well done, pretty good interpersonal development, quite convincing and the "doc" showed their tricks and strategies, but the movie could have been a bit longer. Realistic as well as an ambitious attempt at a "what if" doc… almost makes you Wonder… hmm. No spoilers in this review.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A fascinating low-budget adventure that used the quirks of Matt and Owen to create a fun re-telling of the story of the moon landing. The atmosphere feels accurate to the time period it's set in despite their low budget and a few goofs. The use of real footage from the time further connects it to the real world it attempts to tell a story in. An impressive and underrated project, will watch again

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found this movie painful to watch. I idea of the movie gets 2.5 stars, but the execution was terrible in my opinion.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Capricorn One meets Blair Witch? i just didn't enjoy it i'm afraid - the doc-u-filming style was tedious, it was not funny, frankly i didn't see the point in making the film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Matt Johnson

Director

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson

Owen Williams

Owen Williams

Andrew Appelle

Self

Jared Raab

Self

Josh Boles

Actor

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Operation Avalanche: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Recruited by the CIA in 1967, young filmmakers (Matt Johnson, Owen Williams) shoot footage of a fake moon landing after learning that NASA is losing the space race to the Russians.

Director: Matt Johnson
Producer: Matthew Miller, Lee Kim, Matt Johnson
Screenwriter: Matt Johnson, Josh Boles
Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere
Production Co: XYZ Films
Rating: R (Language|A Brief Sexual Reference)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2017
Runtime: 1h 34m

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