American Ultra

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American Ultra

R

Released Aug 21, 2015

1h 36m

Action

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

175 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel. What Mike doesn't know is that he was trained by the CIA to be a lethal killing machine. When the agency targets him for termination, his former handler activates his latent skills, turning the mild-mannered slacker into a deadly weapon. Now, the utterly surprised Mike must use his newfound abilities to save himself and his girlfriend from getting smoked.

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Critics Consensus

American Ultra has some interesting ideas, but like its stoned protagonist, it's too easily distracted to live up to its true potential.

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Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Complex

American Ultra, built upon ridiculous premise and casting, is not only the funniest but unexpectedly one of the best action movies of the summer.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 24, 2017

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

A loud, ugly, slapdash combination of action movie, pot comedy, criminal romance, and conspiracy thriller - and about as lumpy and ungainly as you'd imagine such a stew would be.

May 27, 2016

Full Review

Alex Abad-Santos

Vox

There are patches where the film stalls and crumbles under too much explanation. That's a shame, because the movie does have bite and sterling moments. But you shouldn't have to be stoned to appreciate them.

Rated: 2.5/5

Dec 17, 2015

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A rather exciting, downright visceral, very often romantic, and unexpectedly fun experience.

Rated: 3/4

May 27, 2022

Full Review

Therese Lacson

Nerdophiles

"American Ultra" is Explosively Fun and Completely Ridiculous

Rated: 4/5

Oct 9, 2021

Full Review

Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

That the filmmakers have some consciousness of the criminal role of the CIA makes the movie, that is neither funny nor well made, a shameful project from the start.

Feb 26, 2021

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N P

"American Ultra" is an action film that centers around a regular clerk and his girlfriend at a small town suddenly getting targeted and attacked via a coalized operation. The action sequences were clever and engaging. The heart of the story was present and made me care for the characters. The comedy was subtle in line with the protagonist's cluelessness. The plot made somewhat sense and was intriguing, and a lot of the story beats, especially involving the couple, hit. It's a fun time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

Full Review

Isa B

This is a ridiculous comedy movie, but it has its strong points. It is very entertaining, after all. I enjoyed the film and do recommend it to those who enjoy these kinds of films. 29/100

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/10/24

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Liam Sammie

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

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Robert M

Saw this in theaters when it came out on a whim. It surprised me. Funny with dope action scenes. Wouldn't expect Esienberg in this kind of role, but he killed it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

Full Review

Test T

I watched this on DVD recently. I found it lacked many of the key ingredients of a sucessful thriller. The lead lacks charisma and likability, and I felt little connection with him, or his girlfriend. The whole film feels sterile and detached. There are some action scenes, but there are also a lot of unremarkable filler scenes where nothing much happens. The film is dull, with many of the scenes set at night, and it lacks the spectacle that I have come to expect from movies like this. In short, it's too ordinary and feels cheap, so I can't recomend it. Just in case I missed something, I watched the DVD extras to try and understand what the makers intended. It seems they were trying to blend ideas to broaden audiance appeal, but as it turned out, this jack of all genres mastered none of them. Sadly, watching the extras just reinforced my earlier conclusion.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/24

Full Review

RJ J

I loved this movie. It was cheesy and fun, I wish there was more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/06/24

Full Review

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Nima Nourizadeh

Director

Jesse Eisenberg

Mike Howell

Kristen Stewart

Phoebe Larson

Topher Grace

Adrian Yates

Connie Britton

Victoria Lasseter

Walton Goggins

Laugher

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Synopsis

Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel. What Mike doesn't know is that he was trained by the CIA to be a lethal killing machine. When the agency targets him for termination, his former handler activates his latent skills, turning the mild-mannered slacker into a deadly weapon. Now, the utterly surprised Mike must use his newfound abilities to save himself and his girlfriend from getting smoked.

Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Producer: Anthony Bregman, Kevin Scott Frakes, Raj Brinder Singh, David Alpert, Britton Rizzio
Screenwriter: Max Landis
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: PalmStar Media, Circle of Confusion
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Sexual Content|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Action, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 21, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.4M
Runtime: 1h 36m

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