Review of American Ultra (2015) by Robert H — 29 Aug 2015

American Ultra was nothing special, but it was a decent film. It had a fun first half, and a not so great second half. The best part of the film was the chemistry between the two leads. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart feel like a convincing couple, and you really do get the sense that they care about each other and will always be there for each other. Their acting is great and they feel like actual characters. In fact, most of the acting is great, even if the characters they play are forgettable.

The problems with the film come from its story, which is barely explored and takes too long to actually get going. The entire first half, while having nice character moments, is nothing but buildup for its story. Characters say cryptic dialogue that has no context until later, all for the purpose of keeping the audience in the dark. These kinds of writing techniques don't keep me interested because I actually want to know what's happening, rather than constantly being led on. Even when they finally give that greater context, though, it still feels underwhelming because nothing is thoroughly explained. The backstory is incredibly vague and remains unexplored even by the end of the movie, but not in a good or artistic way. I still don't understand why anything happened in the film.

Overall, the biggest draw of this film is the performances and its two lead characters. They're engaging and fun to watch. The story doesn't hold up, and the second half gets too convoluted. However, since I value characters over story, I'm willing to give this film three stars, because it at least did well with its cast.