Alright! Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart collaborating in a movie together again! Loved them in Adventureland! It has the screenwriter to Chronicle! Nothing can go wron… wait this is from the director of Project X?!
American Ultra was a film I was very curious on seeing just because of its two leads. Loved Adventureland! Not only for its rewarding screenplay by Greg Mottola but also its enduring and honest performances from its all-star cast, and that was probably Kristen Stewart’s best performance at the time while she was doing the Twilight movies. But when I heard that this was from the Director of Project X, I was starting to get a bad thought. Cause’ Project X is probably one of the worst comedies I think I have seen in recent memory! I can probably go take a dump right now and write something funnier than Project X. Even so, coming out of American Ultra, my first thought was “Ehh…that was fun”.
What really made me enjoy this film was its leads. You like their chemistry with one another and surprisingly as you learn more about their characters secrets it gives the film a surprisingly good amount of heart to it. However I can not say much cause if I do I will be giving away spoilers but the direction that this film takes with Kristen Stewart’s character may have people rolling their eyes but personally I liked it going that route even if it really does not add up specifically. Max Landis (Screenwriter) and Nima Nourizadeh (Director) make the film entertaining by keeping the film fast-paced from start to finish (even if the action comes in a little too early).
Sounds like I liked the movie right…somewhat. I will just start out by saying that even in an action movie you do not want to take it seriously but I feel in this film there are times where I found myself saying “Wait, What?”. Problem with this film is that the characters feel way too cartoonish. Other than Stewart and Eisenberg, Every character in this feels like a one-dimensional satirical joke of a FBI asset. This goes especially to Topher Grace’s character who is suppose to be this bureaucratic nutcase and his performance was so bad in this as a villian that I found myself cringing at one point. The movie is trying to be a satirical dark comedy on the whole assassin spy genre but you know your film is going nowhere fast when the comedy does not work and especially the satirical element feels like it is just playing safe. Another problem with the film is the violence. Most of the violence in this film uses a lot of CGI blood and it completely took me out of the action sequences. It especially gets worse when it becomes excessive in its second half.
However, American Ultra does have good intentions thanks to its two leads but aside from that the movie does not take any risks and may have people rolling their eyes at its twist that the film tries to pull off. I will say this if you decide to rent this on DVD or instantly on Netflix, You’ll probably like it better that way.
Overall Grade: C+
Guys what did you think of American Ultra? Did you like Adventureland? What do you think is Jesse Eisenberg’s best performance? What do you think is Kristen Stewart’s best performance? Comment below and start the conversation! Thanks for reading this review guys and I will see you soon!
,Digi
Raging Nerds 