Once Upon a Twilight!: Movie Review: Lionsgate's #AmericanUltra

American Ultra

Release Day: August 21, 2015
Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Writer: Max Landis
Main Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Connie Britton, Topher Grace, John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins, Tony Hale.
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content)
Genres: Action | Comedy | Adventure
Running Time: 1 hr. 39 min.

Official Sites: Web | Facebook | Twitter

American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive.

Lionsgate brings to us an action-comedy that's packed with some sweet romance as well. Mike is your average stoner, with an average girlfriend - Phoebe. When CIA agents start to come after him, it's like he is trained to attack and will do anything in his power to save Phoebe and himself.

It is usually difficult for me to take myself out of a critical point of view when watching films, I want to be an editor and I tend to become overly picky when watching films - unless that film is able to please me as a filmmaker, and make me forget that I am overly critical. And that is exactly what this film did. For the first 20 minutes I kept thinking "Wow! The camera angles they're using, the shots they're picking - it's all working for me!" There was nothing for me to get angry about as a filmmaker. And once I got past that I was able to enjoy the film, and boy did I enjoy it!

Jesse will win your heart over as Mike. He is adorable, and I swear I will watch him in anything. Every time I see a movie he's starring in I have my doubts, and each time he proves me wrong. His character in American Ultra is so different from what I'm use to from him. I was worried it would just be a repeat character as Adventureland but it wasn't. Sure they're both potheads, but Mike is adorable and slow but then turns around and kicks butt!

Kristen Stewart - seriously one of my all time favorites hands down. All those people who think she can't act? Why not watch this, see all the emotions she is capable of that you don't see. There are so many scenes with her and Eisenberg that will melt your heart, and there were a few times when I could feel my heart breaking just because of the performance she was giving.

I went into this film having read some bad reviews on it - which then had me worried. I have been looking forward to this movie for so long; was it going to be worth it?

Yes...Yes it was!