Review of American Ultra (2015) by Lane Z — 31 Dec 2015

Under utilized talent and a script lacking any real direction from beginning to end leaves you wishing American Ultra was in the more capable hands of a better director.

This Nima guy directed Project X, which wasn't necessarily a knockout in most circles, though fun and enjoyable. Now with a chance to actually have named actors and a semi-decent story to shoot, he fumbles the opportunity. But it's not all his fault. Max Landis has penned good scripts before like Chronicle. But much like the actors seeming like they coasted through these performances, Landis was pretty light on just how detailed or explicit he wanted to be with this story. It's not that the meat of the story is hard to follow, it's that we just don't have any focus on what is spurning all of this. Why was this Ultra program started? Why is Topher Grace's character even acting like he does? Why did Walton Goggins allow himself to get subjected to such a goofy part when we all know how good he can be? Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart do have decent chemistry as these stoners who end up having secrets, but there's nothing they can really do to detract from the simple dialogue or pretty awful makeup work going on.

They didn't go goofy enough or comic-bookie enough in my opinion. The colors stood out, but they didn't use any of that to its advantage. Ultra is easily passed on for the casual viewer, but if you do want to see some OK action scenes with some cool combat.