Nima Nourizadeh’s American Ultra isn’t necessarily a bad
movie as much as it’s a production made with a script that needed another
rewrite. This is a “close, but no cigar”
kind of a flick, one that contains some good ideas, features a solid cast and
has an inventive director at the helm.
There are times when things fall together just right and you can see the
movie that it could have been. Unfortunately, this tale of a good-hearted
stoner who’s actually a deadly secret agent needs a few more laughs and a more
consistent tone to be considered a complete success.
Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is a man of such limited
ambition, if breathing weren’t an involuntary action he’d probably
suffocate. He has a job at the most
forsaken convenience store in West Virginia – which is really saying something
– and the only thing that keeps him going is his girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen
Stewart). He’d be quite happy to smoke
dope and be with her for the rest of his days but that’s not to be as Adrian
Yates (Topher Grace), an executive at the CIA looking to make a name for
himself, orders the elimination of all sleeper agents from past programs. Guess whose name happens to be on that list?
In an effort to give the spy that would rather be stoned a
fighting chance, his former boss Agent Lasseter (Connie Britton) pays him a
visit, throws a key phrase or two his way and before you know it, Mike becomes
one of those guys with a particular skill set, which comes in handy once Yates’
minions get to town to take him out. The
mayhem that ensues, for the most part, is well-staged and punctuated with
explosions set to deliver comedic exclamation points. The pyrotechnics aren’t overdone and they
certainly keep things moving, as does the progressive techno soundtrack from
Marcelo Zarvos.
What proves deceptive about the quality of the script by Max
Landis (Chronicle, and the upcoming Victor Frankenstein) is that the
supporting cast assembled by Nourizadeh makes it seem better than it actually
is. In addition to Britton, John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge!) is on board as
Mike’s skeevy best friend, Walton Goggins (Justified) is genuinely
frightening as a maniacal killer, while Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and
Tony Hale (Veep), while appearing briefly, each make an impression whenever
they’re on screen. That they all help
make this film bearable is a tribute to their talent and with this assemblage I
was wishing they’d had a better script to sink their teeth into.
While Eisenberg shows a comedic side that had
heretofore not been on proper display and Stewart continues her streak of stoic
performances – which is very much in keeping this time out – “Ultra” ultimately is the sort of disposable
entertainment that’s forgotten the minute your feet hit the parking lot.
Though, I have a sneaky suspicion that were one to catch this on cable late one
night and be “recreational” as the film’s main character does, you’d end up
liking this much more than you should.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2015.
