Reel Reviews | American Ultra

by Tim Gordon

American Ultra is a stoner action-comedy that aims to mash up couch-potato humor with Jason Bourne–style chaos — part thriller, part romance, and just oddball enough to stand out from the usual action fare.

Mike (Jesse Eisenberg) is a shy, introverted stoner whose greatest joys in life are drawing comics and getting high with his loyal girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen Stewart). Despite Mike’s lack of ambition, Phoebe loves him unconditionally, and he’s blissfully unaware that there’s much more to his story than late-night snacks and paranoia.

Things take a wild turn when a mysterious CIA agent, Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton), appears at Mike’s dead-end convenience store job and utters a string of strange code words that unlock his dormant super-assassin programming. Before he knows it, this anxious slacker is dispatching hitmen with spoons, frying pans, and anything else he can grab.

Soon, Mike and Phoebe are on the run, caught in the middle of a shadowy government turf war led by the smug, power-hungry Adrian Yates (Topher Grace). While Mike struggles to process his new identity, Phoebe proves to be much more than just a supportive girlfriend; she’s all in, ride or die.

Reuniting for the first time since Adventureland, Eisenberg and Stewart revive their sweet, awkward chemistry, grounding the film’s bonkers premise in a believable, if offbeat, romance. Eisenberg makes for an unlikely action hero but brings a twitchy, sympathetic edge to Mike. Stewart matches him beat for beat, and their dynamic is the film’s emotional anchor.

Director Nima Nourizadeh (Project X) keeps the vibe messy but playful, balancing stoner laughs with bursts of cartoonish violence. Sure, some elements grate (John Leguizamo’s over-the-top side character wears thin fast), and the story doesn’t always hold together — but there’s an undeniable, scrappy charm that carries it through.

American Ultra never quite hits cult-classic status, but it’s weird, energetic, and unexpectedly sweet. And hey, you don’t have to be high to feel the buzz.

Grade: B-