American Ultra (2015)

Often we are given films that try to blur the lines of traditional genres, which, to be fair, is not an easy thing to do. Very few films have ever truly had success with this, that weren't just spoofs of the genres, or specific films. "American Ultra" is the latest movie to attempt this. Writer Max Landis ("Chronicle") strives to mix stoner comedy with hyper-violent action flick, and director Nima Nourizadeh ("Project X") never fully achieves this balance.

The first twenty minutes, before the gun fights and explosions, never quite elicits laughs. Instead, we are treated to weighty exposition about the relationship of our two protagonists: Mike (played by Jesse Eisenberg), a burnout stoner who works at a convenience store in West Virginia, and Phoebe, his inexplicably dedicated girlfriend of five years (Kristen Stewart). Mike is unable to leave his sleepy little town, because he gets panic attacks every time he tries, and the film opens with him ruining a trip to Hawaii, in which he was going to propose. This leads to a lot of apologizing, and a metaphor about a car crashing into a tree that makes Mike ponder if his roots are holding his love back.

We then learn he is a CIA experiment gone wrong, and is now going to be disposed of by a middle-manager, for some silly reason involving his promotion, played by Topher Grace. His only hope for survival is to be "activated" by his personal Dr. Frankenstein (Connie Britton), which sets him off into a violent spiral of self-preservation in the face of trained super-soldiers like himself. The action sequences that spawn from this are often clumsily edited, and shy away from serious gore or bone-crunching hits that robs it of being the Tarantino-esque action film hiding in the script.

Despite its failings at finding a genre, and its awkward tonal shifts, there are a lot of things that work in this film. Eisenberg and Stewart are vibrant and likable, and boast an impressive amount of chemistry with each other. Their shared screen time keeps you somewhat invested in the story, and makes you root for them to succeed, both in survival and love. Topher Grace is excellent as the sniveling one-note CIA villain, who is given a great couple of one-liners, and Walton Goggins, as Grace's lapdog assassin, is wonderfully madcap. Much of the stylized cinematography, from "Zombieland" DP, Michael Bonvillain, is very pleasing to look at.

I feel that in the hands of a more capable director, this could have been something special. As it stands, it is just a little more than okay.

Grade: C+
Easter Egg: No
3D: N/A

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace
Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Writer: Max Landis
RT: 95 min
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content

Two Sentences:

Big Game: Not as off the wall as I was hoping, but it was still a lot of madcap fun. The plot is mostly sparse, and the characters aren't very deep, but the silliness of the action keeps it driving to the end.

Grade: B-

Cop Car: Jon Watts has made one of the most dark and entertaining films of the year. Kevin Bacon is on top of his game, while his foils (two young boys played by Hays Wellford and James Freedson-Jackson) are a complete joy to watch.

Grade: A