Review of American Ultra (2015) by Glenn G — 29 Aug 2015

THE BORED IDENTITY - My Review of AMERICAN ULTRA (3 Stars).

It's strange to give something as high as 3 stars to a film with that review title, but maybe I'm just as confused as this tonally messy but wonderfully performed movie. From the Director of PROJECT X (Nima Nourizadeh) and the Writer of CHRONICLE (Max Landis) comes a film wrongfully marketed as a Stoner Comedy. This is an action thriller in the BOURNE IDENTITY vein starring two characters who admittedly smoke a lot of pot, but we're not talking THE JEFF SPICOLI EXPERIENCE here.

Jesse Eisenberg is Mike, a convenience store clerk prone to severe panic attacks, who when we meet him is freaking out over an upcoming vacation and marriage proposal to his girlfriend Phoebe (Kirsten Stewart). Both have tremendous chemistry and fully commit to their roles, perhaps due to their comfort levels after working together on ADVENTURELAND. I loved an early scene where they're spooning and a tilt down to their feet reveals tattoos that only make sense when they're intertwined. Stewart shows such loving patience with Mike most of the time, and it's gorgeous and real. Her blowups mean so much more because we've seen her holding it in more often than not. Had the film simply been about Mike's anxiety disorder as he navigates his way through this relationship, I think I would have enjoyed this more.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of high concepts, and soon enough, Mike discovers a scary level of strength and agility when he encounters two assassins outside his store one night. Dispensing with them in record, bloody speed, his whole world is turned upside down when he and Phoebe find themselves on the run from a lot of people who want them dead. Early on, there are some laughs as Mike can't comprehend where he's getting his skills, but Eisenberg goes so deep into his character, that his sweetness and pain supercede any bong-related chuckles at hand.

Making matters worse are the all-over-the-map performances of the supporting players. Connie Britton is all icy glares and clipped strides as a CIA Operative gone rogue when her much younger, smarmier boss (Topher Grace) orders her to kill Mike. Both yell a lot in a somewhat one-note fashion. John Leguizamo plays Mike's dealer, and he's clearly going for comedy when everyone around him is dead serious. It doesn't work. Much worse is Walton Goggins as an assassin known as Laugher, because he peppers every line with a cackle not out of place in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS' nitrous oxide scene. It's cartoonish and annoying.

Once the film shifts into its Boom Pow phase, it never lets up. This leads to successful moments such as when another assassin (Monique Ganderton) wreaks havoc on a police station. Action junkies won't be let down by this movie. Me? I got a little bored by the time the umpteenth explosion came around.

Fortunately, Eisenberg and Stewart save the day. It's truly worth seeing because of this wonderful pair of actors. Eisenberg has been praised to the end of the earth and back so far in his young career, but Stewart has (rightfully) been harshly criticized for her somnambulant TWILIGHT performances. Take those off her resume and she's damn impressive, from INTO THE WILD, PANIC ROOM, and the aforementioned ADVENTURELAND, to such showstoppers just this year alone in THE CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and STILL ALICE. With their incredibly soulful performances in AMERICAN ULTRA, I'm willing to forgive the sloppiness and the repetitiveness because, gosh darn it, these kids are going places!