American Ultra (DVD REVIEW)
American Ultra
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
Eisenberg Excels Cast Against Type as Unlikely Action Hero in
"Manchurian Candidate" Adventure
At first
blush, Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) looks like your prototypical
slacker with not much of a future. The small town stoner is very
content to fritter away his life behind the counter of the local
convenience store, so long as he can go home and get high with his
girlfriend, Phoebe (Kristen Stewart), after work every day.
It's hard
to figure out why she puts up with the loser, between his lack of
ambition and a crippling fear of flying that prevents them from
venturing very far from landlocked Lymon, West Virginia. After all,
she's attractive and has a decent career as a bail bondsman.
Nevertheless,
she sticks with him, even after he has a panic attack in the airport
and screws up their plans for the perfect Hawaiian getaway. Mike was
as upset as Phoebe when he failed to muster up the courage to get on
board, since he'd purchased a diamond ring with which to pop the
question during the vacation.
But Phoebe
has no idea that her beau has a hidden past as a sleeper agent
trained as a deadly assassin by a U.S. government spy agency. Trouble
is, Mike's been blissfully unaware of it, too, since a of his brain
was turned off when the Ultra program was put in proverbial
mothballs.
However,
the cozy couple is in for the shock of their lives soon after Adrian
Yates (Topher Grace) targets Mike for death. The callous bureaucrat
dispatches killers to Lymon to eliminate the remote risk of the
dormant asset somehow activating and going rogue. Mike surprises
himself when the hit men arrive to take him out.
He suddenly
displays an array of prodigious fighting and survival skills
implanted deep in his subconscious, and slays his attackers almost
effortlessly. Yates nevertheless remains determined to complete the
mission, gradually upping the ante as Mike manages to vanquish each
escalating wave after wave of adversaries.
Thus
unfolds American Ultra, an endlessly-entertaining action comedy
directed by Nima Nourizadeh (Project X). This remarkably-novel
adventure is reminiscent of Kick-Ass (2010) in the way it alternates
effortlessly back-and-forth between lighthearted and graphic fare.
The movie
also devotes considerable attention to generating a palpable
chemistry between co-stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart,
thereby ensuring we care about the fate of their characters once the
plot thickens. Alternately sophisticated and silly, but ever
unpredictable thanks to a few cleverly-concealed twists, American
Ultra is a delight not to be missed.
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R for graphic violence,
pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs, drug use and some sexuality
Running time: 96 minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Home
Entertainment
No comments:
Post a Comment