MYST 2: American Ultra

Oh, Kristen Stewart. How I do feel so bad for you. Just because you ended up playing the second shallowest book romantic character in the history of modern literature (Dakota Johnson now officially holds that title with the garbage portrayal of Anastasia Steele in 'Fifty Shades of Grey), now you've been shamed to much of the public icon as only able to play shallow, lovesick, quiet feminine outcasts. However, within this new action-adventure spy spoof 'American Ultra' both Stewart and her partner-in-crime Jesse Eisenberg team up as a couple of stoners battling against the world designed to kill them, and as for the end result, while this is nowhere near the greatest movie for stoners and non-stoners alike, it nevertheless provides a cheap source of heavily-baked entertainment for an hour-and-a-half adventure the viewer won't soon forget.

The story revolves around pothead Mike Howell (Eisenberg) and his stoner girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart). Living in a run-down town in West Virginia as a convenience store clerk, Howell is riddled with drug problems, panic attacks, and a love of cheap cartoons he draws on a notepad during his shifts. Probably the most satisfying part of the entire movie is the chemistry between Eisenberg and Stewart. While Stewart is known throughout her film entourage, primarily in the 'Twilight' movies, as being a shallow girlfriend, she takes a step back in this stoner romp to really play off of the idea of deeper connection. There's an obvious spark being lit between the two characters, and as horrible of a human being as Mike Howell can portray, Stewart's performance as the 'car the tree runs into' throughout the movie is refreshing, and gives new light to Kristen Stewart in the world of film.

As well, Jesse Eisenberg, Mr. Facebook, is given a new set of tools to play a titular action hero in the midst of some sort of spy-oriented background. Eisenberg is notable for his portrayals across biographicals and dramas, so to see him outside of his comfort zone for the first time since 'Zombieland' was a breath of fresh air. In accordance, he and Stewart both feel at home playing their characters, as Eisenberg's stuttering speech pattern and Stewart's quiet nature lends itself to a very natural and organic-feeling chemistry that not a lot of modern romantic movies are able to accomplish. And this isn't even a romantic movie.

Now, no movie is without its faults. Unfortunately, American Ultra has quite a few of them. Firstly, the movie is unquestionably stupid. Now, there are a lot of movies that work to achieve a sense of stupidity that makes it ridiculously entertaining for the viewer to watch, such as 'Animal House' or 'Pacific Rim.' However, American Ultra's plot is so ridiculously overdone that seems almost as baked as its characters. The primary issue lies in that American Ultra cannot decide whether it wants to be a farce comedy or a full-blown action movie, or some sort of three-way mix between romantic comedy, action, and adventure. For every beautiful scene of Eisenberg and Stewart laying under the stars, there's a cliched fight between Stewart and a drug dealer in a neon-lit basement of a dealer's mansion. This indecisiveness throughout the movie makes it almost apparent that the movie itself is too confused on what it wants to be.

The other major problem lies in the other characters in the film. Eisenberg and Stewart gave stellar performances in their respective roles. But the other CIA operatives and drug dealers and sideline characters throughout the movie give almost a half-assed performance, almost as though they feel 'unworthy' to be in the light of stars like Stewart and Eisenberg. This is not to say that all of the characters are poorly acted all of the time, but there's a clear difference in how seriously Eisenberg acts as stoner Mike Howell than Connie Britton takes her role as CIA Agent Victoria Lasseter. More often than not, the viewer is waiting and tapping her foot listening to other characters talk before Eisenberg and Stewart are back on screen.

Finally, the movie tries way too hard to be a mix of every cool scene from an action movie ever created. The gimmick of American Ultra is the numerous number of ways that Mike Howell kills his opponents, with everthing from a cup of ramen noodles to bouncing a bullet off of a frying pan. Now, in theory, this should all be cool and exciting and something new that the audience member hasn't seen before. But this is such the problem: there's nothing new here.The bullet-off-of-a-frying-pan is stolen completely from the script of 'Wanted.' Stabbing a guy with a spoon is taken directly from 'Murder in the First.' A car exploding with bomb straps almost completely mirrors a scene from 'Final Destination.' It's not that these scenes aren't entertaining; there's something ridiculously satisfying about bouncing bullets. But the issue here is that everything has been done before. There's no feeling of 'freshness,' no creative over-the-top ideas that completely blow the viewer's mind. Instead of feeling cool, most of the action sequences feel over-the-top and ridiculously out of place.

Now, this is not to say that everything in this film is completely overdone. This isn't 'Pacific Rim.' I know that I keep going back to it, but the chemistry between Eisenberg and Stewarts' characters is nothing short of spectacular. In recent years, especially in the world of romantic comedy, a lot of character interaction feels forced and unoriginal, and a lot of times are barred with the markings of forced appreciation that doesn't really exist. But what exists here are two characters, one a self-diagnosed screw up and the other his loving girlfriend, quote "his girlfriend, his mom, his maid, his maiden," but who loves him unconditionally just for being who he is. Probably the most fantastic scene of this movie is the two sitting and talking underneath a tree and looking at the stars, thinking about the future and how things are going to move forward, which is something that anybody who's been in any sort of relationship can relate to. And especially for a person like Kristen Stewart, that saves so much of the movie from being a cheap stoner knockoff.

Overall, 'American Ultra' isn't bad, but it isn't good. There's a lot of bad within the movie. The aciton sequences are horribly overdone, almost no part of said sequences have any sort of originality, and some of the acting is, honestly, atrocious. However, the natural chemistry between Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, as well as the fact that movie is absolutely entertaining, saves a lot of the fault and actually makes the movie worth watching. Stewart is no longer held down by the burden of Bella Swan, and now has demonstrated that she carries a burning torch of kinship and has a lot more to offer down the road. If this and 'Snow White and the Huntsman' are the starting points, we're in a good place.

I give American Ultra a 5/10.