Films > Film Reviews
American Ultra
19/11/15
Faced with the prospect of writing a review of American Ultra, which I watched last night, I‘ve been struck by the realization that if I've just watched a mediocre movie, you ,the reader might just get a mediocre review too. So, here it is, a by the numbers review of a by the numbers movie.
American Ultra tells the love story of two twenty something stoners (played by Jessie Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart) who get caught up in the murky underhand world of secret U.S. government experiments and training programs, and are forced to come to terms with truths about their lives they never thought possible. The first big problem with this is that I find twenty something stoners somewhat hard to relate to, and audiences in general may too. Unless of course you happen to be a twenty something stoner yourself. The second problem? None of the supporting characters are particularly relatable either. That’s not to say those characters aren't enjoyable. Topher Grace, Connie Britton, and Walton Goggins (you know who they are, even if you don’t recognize their names) all put in great performances, and are all clearly relishing the opportunity to chew the scenery and eat large slabs of ham whenever the script allows. Special mention must be given to John Leguizamo’s Rose who steals every scene he’s in. But it’s all very one dimensional, and does nothing to build a connection between you, the viewer, and the movie. Relating to the movie’s characters does becomes less of a problem once certain plot revelations have occurred, and indeed Kristen Stewart’s performance goes from sub Bella Swan to post Hit-Girl when the movie decides to put it’s foot on the gas.
Two time director Nima Nourizadeh has crafted a movie with adequately directed action sequences using a pretty decent visual style, but those sequences never elevate to the adrenaline fuelled carnage of say The Raid or Winter Soldier. In fact the sequence shot best in the movie is a piece that portrays the banality of Mike Howell’s (Jessie Eisenberg’s) life. Pottering around in his little convenience store with no customers is visually more entertaining than any of the action in a movie that totally misses the opportunity to do something really smart visually (take for instance the neon basement sequence), and instead decides to play it safe and never really push the boundaries of the genre it's inhabiting.
Oh and just one other thing. The piece de resistance at the end of the final action sequence is totally spoilt because I watched the trailer. It becomes a telegraphed crescendo that totally falls flat because I know what’s coming. I wanted to watch the movie because the trailer piqued my interest, but leave something to the full viewing, please?
The writing is strong without ever being smart, and as a whole, this movie isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is. It also misses the chance at the end to do something really radical with Kristen’s character Phoebe, instead relegating her to sidekick status rather than raising her to potential heroine of the entire movie.
I'm sure that writer Max Landis (son of John), who's always got something interesting to say about writing and storytelling (check out his social media pages if you don't already) would argue that you've never seen a movie about stoner sleeper agents fighting their evil bureaucratic masters for freedom before. What I have seen is separate movies about both, and American Ultra proves that just because you put genres together, it doesn't make a special movie, even if everyone involved thinks it is.