In the weeks leading up to the US release of the latest Jesse Eisenberg/Kristen Stewart piece – their second team up following the 2009 indie Adventureland – the duo made a number of headlines for different reasons, with Eisenberg's comments on his visit to San Diego Comic Con for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice upsetting the fan community due to him comparing it to "some kind of genocide" while Stewart's sexuality status gained attention by tabloids. With that and the somewhat dismissive response some audiences have to both actors (as evident by the majority of their box office reports outside of the Twilight films) in recent years, American Ultra opened rather low in the US, and a week later dropped out of the top ten completely. But for a film with an intriguing premise of the Bourne series mixed with a stereotypical stoner comedy, was the film misjudged?
Mike Howell (Eisenberg) is your run-of-the-mill stoner and convenience store clerk who's currently in a long-term relationship with fellow pothead Phoebe (Stewart) whom he wishes to marry. They were going to go to Hawaii together before Howell's recurring panic attacks takes effect and they miss the flight. But just as the two's relationship is returning to normal, his past and previously unknown life as a CIA test subject, under the moderation of Agent Lasseter (Connie Britton), is activated when he becomes a target of her rival Adrian Yates (Topher Grace) using subjects from his similar project. With the couple, and indeed the whole town, under threat from the CIA and not everything being what it seems, can Howell survive the onslaught?
The greatest pity about American Ultra is that, judging by its promotional material and the plot synopsis, it should be a really great movie. There's plenty that can be done with it, and the action sequences presented in said promotional material brings forth simple popcorn fun in the same vein as surprise success Kingsman: The Secret Service earlier this year. But alas, despite how fun it all sounds American Ultra succumbs to be a somewhat slobby slow-burner which may actually require the chemicals present throughout the film to help audiences get through it. Yes, it certainly sounds inventive by what was mentioned prior, and there is entertainment to be had, but it never seems to hit the right spot in every area. As a comedy, the laughs are there but far and few. As an action film, the fights are gruesome and exciting but all too brief – even during the 'grand finale' where multiple goons are quickly dispatched by Howell. As a hybrid of both genres, it fails to be a great blend of the two; only a simple middling one with slow points. It works in a way as a romantic film, but when considering the story tangent in the middle it quickly falls to familiar ground from numerous features before it.
Jesse Eisenberg is an actor who can often blend into his roles but sadly gets offered the same ones – either a lovable loser such as in the comedy hit Zombieland or a dislikeable smart-arse such as in The Social Network. Some films, like Richard Ayoade's The Double do well in blending the two traits together, but American Ultra sticks with the former, with his lovable loser motif not exactly running out of steam but rather not played out to its full potential. It certainly has its moments, such as blatantly pointing out misplaced weapons for the enemy to use against him, but it quickly evaporates as the film progresses. Likeable yes, and well-played by the Oscar nominee, but whose tendencies do alter over the course of the film for the worse. Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart plays the role of a fellow stoner well, and does do well with her comedic timing alongside her previously established chemistry with her co-star, but for her character as a whole never really does much. Even after a plot-defining moment midway through, she's left as a romantic arc with only the occasional spur of ass-kicking – and even then that's only in the last act. Also present on team stoner is John Leguizamo as their dealer Rose, who alongside two lackeys appear in the funniest five minutes of the film, and it's quite clear that he's having a lot of fun in the role. Alas, it's barely a substantial role, with the trio being quickly despatched from the remainder of the film.
Over by the CIA, primary antagonist Topher Grace is gracefully chewing the scenery with his performance, with its overabundance to cuss midway through sentences and to keep his voice up at every opportunity lending to a painful viewing experience that isn't helped by the lack of explanation as to why he's doing this. We get told he's going to kill Howell, gets on with it, then tries to hastily explain himself at the very end in what feels like the screenwriters giving some level of information about the character. In a way, it's good that he's this hateable because he's the bad guy, but he has to be at least tolerable. His main subject 'Laugher' (played by Walton Goggins) isn't particularly appealing either despite being the subject of one of the film's more interesting action sequences in a jail cell, while no other subject is given much to go on with the exception of one who wields multiple weapons. But on the side of Howell lies Britton's Agent Lasseter who quite simply plays a typical CIA agent, with former assistant and side-switcher Toby Hales given some level of explanation as to why we should root for the guy but falling through at the very end. And finally, there's a very minor role for Bill Pullman which I shan't go into much detail into outside of that he could have been played by literally anyone else.
With direction which unevenly mixes typical action fare with TV-esque viewing (most disappointing of which is an ambitious one-shot which could have been on-par with the Free Bird sequence in Kingsman or the Avengers uniting in Age of Ultron but quickly deciding against that), American Ultra can be summed up as being an almost film. It almost has good acting and likable characters if not for the bad guys; it almost has a good story but is hindered by never going through with anything; it almost has fun but never lets it last long. American Ultra is almost a good film, and is by no means a bad one. But it is an unmemorable one. 4/10.
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