American Ultra (2015) Reviews

• Not a comedy - but a crazy, violent, suspenseful ride peppered with a healthy dose of black humor

  gogoschka-12015-11-05

  OK, the first thing you need to know about this film is that it is NOT a stoner comedy; in fact, I wouldn't even call it a comedy. I'm glad I had already read some reviews about this film complaining that the film's marketing campaign was very misleading, so I didn't watch it with the wrong expectations. After the lukewarm reviews, I actually didn't expect anything from American Ultra and I was more or less prepared not to like it – imagine my surprise when I enjoyed it from start to finish. The main character's story-arc has been compared to Jason Bourne's, which certainly makes sense; but while American Ultra shares certain themes with the Bourne films, I found it to be much closer in tone and story to The Long Kiss Goodnight: it's a crazy, (very!) violent and suspenseful ride peppered with enough black humor and action to keep you entertained throughout; it's a film that's not even remotely realistic and it doesn't mean to be (but let me stress this again: it is NOT a comedy). In my opinion, this didn't deserve to flop; if films like Fifty Shades of Grisly Soft Porn can make hundreds of millions of dollars at the box-office, an unconventional (but very entertaining) little action-thriller like American Ultra should at least have been able to make its budget back. If you take it for what it is and you like your films R-rated and slightly twisted, I can't see why you wouldn't enjoy it. 7 stars out of 10. Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/ Lesser-Known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/ Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

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• A Fun, Flawed, Underrated Action Film with Unlikely Heroes

  brando6472016-05-12

  American ULTRA is not only one of the most underrated films of 2015 but one of the most unjustifiably detested as well. It was far from perfect, but was it bad enough to warrant a meager 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes? I don't think so. Some of the dialogue landed with a thud and Walton Goggins could've toned it down a bit, but otherwise American ULTRA was a pretty slick little action film. In a year full of spy films, most will forget this little tale of the CIA and experiments gone wrong. Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is a pothead living in rural West Virginia with his longtime girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen Stewart). He enjoys a peaceful life of smoking weed and working nights at the local general store and his only concerns are the occasional harassment from the local sheriff and crippling panic attacks whenever he tries to leave town. What Mike doesn't know (or, more accurately, doesn't remember) is that he was once part of an experiment with the CIA where he was trained to be the perfect assassin. When the program started showing adverse mental effects on the subjects, the project was closed and Mike, the most successful of the test subjects, had his memory wiped and was given his new life. But now a young CIA upstart (Topher Grace) sees his chance to make a name for himself in the agency and begins a new operation using his own trained killers to eliminate the remnants of the old program….including Mike. It'd be an easy enough mission, if someone hadn't activated Mike's programming to give him a fighting chance. American ULTRA had been advertised as a stoner comedy, which was pretty deceiving. This is an action film with an equal balance of dramatic and comedic elements. There are few beats meant to get the audience chuckling but all of them are in the promotional materials, giving the impression this is more HALF BAKED than Jason Bourne. In reality, it's somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. And when you approach it from that angle, it's a pretty fun movie. It's a quick and easy 95 minutes that flies by at a sharp pace. The movie is pretty much in gear from the moment it begins, slowing down for a few brief moments to build on the relationship between Mike and Phoebe. I've seen this movie two or three times now and I haven't been bored yet. On the contrary, I dig it. Jesse Eisenberg is admittedly a strange choice of action star, but it works because Mike isn't supposed to be your average action hero. He's not supposed to be much to look at; as far as we (and he) are concerned, he's just a stoner who draws comics on the long, lonely nights sitting behind a cash register. Eisenberg works for the character because he can do neurotic incredibly well. When Mike starts slaughtering would-be killers with whatever mundane he's got handy, it's just as shocking to himself as it is to them. He has no idea what's happening; one minute he's straightening shelves, the next he's assaulted by a couple of men and he's jamming a spoon into one's neck with skills he's unaware he even has. With this disconnect and the resulting confusion, it's right in Eisenberg's wheelhouse and he rocks it. He's also got fantastic chemistry with Kristen Stewart In fact, I'll come out and share my opinion that this is probably one of Stewart's best roles. I made a point of avoiding the TWILIGHT series so I've only really seen her perform as Joan Jett in THE RUNAWAYS and Snow White in SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, and I've never shared the contempt most people have for her. I think she's got some skill and I've never seen her as good as she is in American ULTRA. Now, there's a "big reveal" halfway into the film that's a little hard to swallow but, for all of her interactions with Eisenberg and Topher Grace, I loved her. While Eisenberg and Stewart are a perfect pair of heroes, our villains aren't as strong. Topher Grace does really well at portraying smarmy and conniving and his character Yates is both of these things, but he's also too immature for me to believe he would've been promoted as far as he had and been given the opportunity to institute his own crazy operation. I loved his bickering with Stewart and some of his tantrums were amusing but whenever he tried to come across as threatening, he flat-lined. Walton Goggins is the other big baddie of the film as the only CIA super soldier worthy of remembering, Laugher. I love Goggins and it's great to see him in anything, but I hate Laugher's trademark forced hyena laugh with a passion. He's much better later in the film when he brings the craziness down a few pegs and his character starts coming to his senses a bit; I loved the final moments in the last battle between Mike and Laugher, almost as much as I loved this exchange earlier in the film when Laugher is preparing to set fire to a car that Mike's trapped inside: Mike: (yells from inside car) "I hate you!" Laugher: (pauses in dumping gasoline on car to yell back): "Well, I f***in' hate you too, man!" It's simple and stupid but it gets a laugh from me. There are a lot of little moments like that where humor peaks through the carnage. John Leguizamo has a small role as Mike's drug dealer that's good for some laughs and Mike's own naivety provides him with some good material. It's a perfect blend, really. I'm disappointed to see the lukewarm-to-cold response American ULTRA received. If you haven't seen it yet, I'm giving it a recommend. I think it's worth it and it might surprise you.

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• Actually Entertaining

  staypuff-589-8839372016-05-12

  This review does not contain spoilers, it just talks about the actors and the general mood the film has. I started watching this expecting to hate it quite a bit, because I really don't like Jesse as an actor at all. I was quite surprised to find myself laughing, feeling and getting excited from the very beginning. I guess you could say that this movie was "ultra" fine ;). The action was great with enough blood for someone who likes movies along the lines of Kick-ass and similar. The comedy was funny enough to punch through the serious moments of the movie to give you a quick laugh before it throws you back into the quite depressing storyline. The twists (while i expected them a mile away unfortunately) had you feeling heavily for the protagonist. My final thoughts about this movie are that Kristin Stewart really can give a great performance. Do not judge her just on twilight. If you don't enjoy this movie even a little bit i think you really need to lighten up.

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• I didn't expect to be so entertained

  callanvass2016-01-15

  (Credit to Mr. Moiz) Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel about a superhero monkey. What Mike doesn't know is that he was trained by the CIA to be a lethal killing machine. When the agency targets him for termination, his former handler activates his latent skills, turning the mild- mannered slacker into a deadly weapon. Now, the utterly surprised Mike must use his newfound abilities to save himself and his girlfriend from getting wasted. This was far better than I expected. When my best friend wanted to see this, I wasn't sure what to fully think. The trailers looked average to me and I expected very little. Much to my surprise, this isn't your average stoner movie. This one has plenty of creativity. What really makes this movie is the able cast, especially the two leads. Jessie Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart play off one another beautifully and have terrific chemistry with each other. You're able to care about them and what they are going through. Topher Grace is an above average villain as well. For the action fans out there, I think you'll be pleased. There are enough explosions and fight scenes to satisfy. This movie has a little bit of everything and plenty of creativity. It's a bit of a shame that this didn't make much noise in theaters because it deserved to. Not everyone will get the satisfaction I got out of it, but I recommend it highly 7.5/10

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• Second degree

  charliep142016-01-07

  Anyone who watches this movie and takes it at face value won't enjoy it. As is often the case with over the top, over exaggerated movie, check your common sense at the door and ride it like a roller coaster. American Ultra is ultra violent, ultra simplistic and yes, a little stupid. But I think it's supposed to be? As B Movie or just "childish R Rated" pleasure, this movie works. A lot of things going for it actually: a very punch mise en scène, some good casting and good performances from Kristen Stewart & co. given the genre and topic.... and yes, good fun. Given the negative reviews, this may sound defensive but I am sure that a lot of people will enjoy it for what it is. DOn't expect the next Avengers and yes, don't expect anything deep.

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