AMERICAN ULTRA: Not the Promised High

American Ultra is one of those films that sounds really good on paper and even executes well at first, but quickly loses its luster after the quirkiness of its original premise wears off. In this case, its uniqueness comes from the idea of a stoner being a sleeper agent for the government. “Original” might be a little generous, as the film is adapted from the graphic novel of the same name; nevertheless it is something new to the screen, and it stays fun while it continues to feel that way. Unfortunately, the high only lasts for about the first 30 minutes, and then proceeds to rely on an abundance of gore and lackluster action scenes.

Nice Cast, Nice Grass

Jesse Eisenberg and Kristin Stewart make a surprisingly dynamic duo as stoners Mike and Phoebe. Though most of the film leaves much to be desired, the chemistry between these two leads is incredibly entertaining to watch. Stewart rocks some classic stoner dreads, whereas Eisenberg lays around working on his own comic book or working at a convenience store. When they stay in weed mode, everything stays in the realm of believable.

But when the bullets start to fly and we are made to believe Eisenberg is a gun-toting martial arts expert with high physical skill…well, it’s kind of hard to swallow. Just from a physicality standpoint, I mean have you seen Jesse Eisenberg? Director Nima Nourizadeh relies heavily on quick jump cuts during the action so that no one has any real idea of what’s going on, but that over reliance just takes away further from the mediocre action.

Max Landis, most famous for his work on Chronicle, makes the most of his script mainly when focusing on Mike and Phoebe’s relationship. Despite all of Mike’s laziness, Phoebe is there to pick up the pieces without minding and Mike desperately wants to stop making her have to. There are moments where emotions of guilt and even grief are palpable by both dialogue and performance. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives mostly end, because as the story goes deeper into the “Ultra” program (an actual CIA program from the 50’s meant to reprogram agents as a kind of super-operative at a moment’s notice), the script goes from laughably witty to straight out laughable.

Topher Grace plays handler Adrian Yates, who has decided that Mike’s status as an agent has turned worthless…for some reason. The rest of the supporting cast fares a little better, though, with John Leguizamo and Walton Goggins delivering some of the most memorable laughs as a dealer and hitman respectively.

A Tone with Smokey Intentions

American Ultra bravely tries to bridge the gap between two completely separate genres, but what works in the novel doesn’t reach its potential on screen. The tone brutally shifts from the slow happy mind of a stoner to the quick cold thinking of an assassin at the blink of an eye, and it is incredibly jarring. With this confusion in tone, you are never given the opportunity to fully commit to enjoying comedy or incessant gore. Instead of bridging the two genres, the film rather executes them both with mediocrity. While other productions have been able to pull off an unlikely marriage of different genres, Ultra would have benefited from staying committed to one side or the other.

With the constant genre swings from stoner comedy to high gore action, your mind might get a little buzzed, and honestly maybe that’s what you need to truly enjoy this movie, even for its short run time. Put up against others in the same genre like Pineapple Express, Ultra can never quite find its footing on that enjoyable of a level. But, like Express, this movie speaks to stoners, and maybe getting stoned is just the way to fully appreciate the giggles the screen delivers. The only drug we cool people at Film Inquiry recommend is life, though, so stay in school kids.

Do you think American Ultra bridged the gap between stoner comedy and gritty action? Let us know in the comments!

(top image source: Lionsgate Films)