Stoner comedy falls flat

The espionage and spy genre has seen some acclaimed films in the past few years, including Skyfall and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. These movies have kept fans on the edge of their seats with anticipation, grandiose sets, tense moments and, to top it off, stellar lead actors. American Ultra, however, is a different type of spy movie, with an original story. Unfortunately, as unique as American Ultra is, it does not deliver as much as it could.

American Ultra is about former CIA assassin Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) who the CIA has determined is a liability to the organization and decides to terminate. Despite being a stoner who works a dead-end job, Mike proves hard to kill when his deadly skills are revitalized. Mike and his girlfriend, played by Kristen Stewart, have to find a way to evade the CIA so they don’t both end up in body bags.

Eisenberg’s performance as Mike is a standout in the movie. His character, a neurotic and quirky guy with a bit of social anxiety, is natural for Eisenberg’s repertoire, and it definitely shows. Even in scenes where Mike is eliminating bad guys like flies, his nervous tics and sheltered persona still shine through to remind viewers that they are definitely not watching a Daniel Craig copycat. He doesn’t just adapt his performance of Mark Zuckerberg either. He’s unassuming and quick to apologize about everything, unlike the know-it-all performance he gave when he portrayed Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Eisenberg’s performance is the best out of the oddball cast in this movie, but it’s not all that surprising considering he was nominated for an Academy Award.

While Eisenberg’s performance is great, Kristen Stewart is not too far behind. Stewart and Eisenberg have great chemistry in this movie, likely because this isn’t the first time the two have been on-screen together as a couple. Those who have seen Adventureland know that Eisenberg and Stewart played complicated love interests, similar to their relationship in this movie. Her best scenes come from give-and-take lines with Eisenberg, and she can just as quickly deliver the laughs as she can the dramatic moments. However, the majority of her scenes involve Eisenberg in some way, and it would have been nice to see her character develop without Eisenberg.

Aside from Eisenberg and Stewart, the rest of the performances are forgettable. Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights fame does a decent job, but she’s tragically underused in the movie. Fans of Friday Night Lights and Nashville might be disappointed to see this great actress fall to the wayside in terms of screen time, which can’t be said for Topher Grace from That ’ 70s Show, who nearly ruined the movie. Reminiscent of his performance in Spider-Man 3, Grace yet again shows how some actors are only good in one role, and his days on That ‘70s Show were the peak of his acting career. Scenes with Grace were nearly unbearable. Unnecessary cursing, poor comedic timing and awful dialogue lines make Grace’s performance as an arrogant CIA agent a major negative in the movie.

There are, of course, ups and downs to other aspects of this movie. The action is nothing special, aside from being extremely violent. People are shot, beaten and have their bones snapped like celery stalks throughout the entirety of the movie. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but those who are squeamish or aren’t in love with the idea of violence should reconsider before seeing this movie. There are a couple of cool standout action stunts and scenes that are almost cheesy at moments, but they add to the movie’s charm. The dialogue is also something that likes to flirt with the possibility of being cheesy, and it sometimes is. Don’t expect any quotable monologues or one-liners from this movie.

The most disappointing thing about this movie is its unrealized potential. With such an interesting premise, there was so much about this movie that could have been, but never was. There was so much more that could have been done with the characters, but a lot of their subplots felt rushed or glossed over. The “stoner who is actually a sleeper agent” is a concept that could have been made into something better than what American Ultra is. The idea could be further explored in possible future installments, but for now, what people see is what they get.

Overall, this movie was not a complete waste of money for an overpriced movie ticket. It had some laughs, it had some action and it had some great performances from Stewart and Eisenberg. It also had Grace who absolutely bombed. For now, this reunion of Stewart and Eisenberg fails to live up to Adventureland.