American Ultra *½ (out of 5) (R) Scads of comedies and other films have built on variations of an unlikely protagonist suddenly learning of latent skills, super powers, alien origins, etc. that have been lurking within, just waiting to be triggered at the right moment. The nerd becomes a hero, surprising himself more than anyone. The premise can resonate with anyone. What kid hasn’t fantasized about being special in some yet-to-be-discovered way, like gawky Anne Hathaway’s learning she’s heir to a throne in The Princess Diaries; or destined for heroism to be fulfilled in a Narnia; or mad spy skills like Jason Bourne’s suppressed for security reasons? Among such offerings, this one should rank as the most...recent.
Jesse Eisenberg plays a stoner working at a convenience store, plagued by panic attacks whenever he tries to leave his home town; too neurotic for a job in the next Clerks sequel. So who better on the improbability scale to actually be a superstar lethal weapon secretly developed by our CIA, with no clue as to that part of his past? The film is billed as an action comedy, but the latter is in woefully short supply, and the former is too cartoonish for the product to work as a drama or satire. As Eisenberg and his main squeeze (Kristin Stewart, apparently falling for a new kind of freak after her Twilight werewolf and vampire flings) find themselves inexplicably pursued by hard-core killers Jesse can handle without knowing how or why, the film gets dumber and dumber. What could played well as a light-hearted farce winds up in a tiresome middle ground; not enough meat for drama; too dull for farce. This one almost makes Fantastic Four (reviewed on 8/7) seem better in retrospect. (8/21/15)
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