Phil sees AMERICAN ULTRA from Lionsgate-December 8, 2015

So, today's film has been receiving a lot of mixed reviews. Some have praised the film saying it's an action packed dark comedy that it'll entertain the hell out of you from start to finish, while others complained saying it wasn't at all funny and it's a BOURNE IDENTITY spoof. Regardless of these, when I saw the trailer for the film, I knew that I wanted to see it. Which leads me to today's review of the film AMERICAN ULTRA.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2015)

The film's official synopsis: Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel about a superhero monkey. 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 Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) 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 Phoebe Larson (Kristen Stewart) from getting wasted.

I can see why the film had received mixed reviews. The trailer doesn't do the film justice. This is funny film with lots of cool action, great characters and dark humor that will tickle your warped and twisted funny bone. This is not your Hollywood film by any means. Usually the only films that are like this are usually from the Coen Brothers. So viewing this film was a delight. It's so offbeat and not like those other action films. Think Quentin Tarantino film meets Cheech and Chong and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about.

Director Nima Nourizadeh made his big screen debut with the 2012 film PROJECT X. Here he goes in a different direction; replacing teen shenanigans with off-the-wall action and comedy that propels the movie to another stratosphere. Nima keeps the film moving forward while giving us laughs, action and fun characters to root for. And there is a lot of cool action scenes that so bloody and violent that fans of the genre will love it.

As for the cast, the one that really stands out is Kristen Stewart. Yes I know, her acting in those awful TWILIGHT movies were just mind-numbingly bad, but since then her acting has become rather good. Here, her character is actually two different people: the sweet, funny naive girlfriend Phoebe and the bad ass, take charge, shoot 'me up FBI agent Pheobe. Her performance is great and she's doing most of her own stunts. So big props goes out to Miss Stewart. Love to see where her career goes now.

For some stupid reason, Lionsgate just dumped the film out to theaters without a lot of press or any kind of promotions. So it didn't even make its budget back. The film took in about $15 million total but it cost $28 million to make, so I don't understand Lionsgate's logic. But then, that's Hollywood for you. I guess they were too busy promoting some other film rather than give this on some love and attention it so rightly deserves.

So AMERICAN ULTRA is one helluva crazy, blood soaked, guns blazing, action packed dark comedy that will sure give you something to smile about! So if you're in the mood to see something rather different' then this movie is righ up our alley. 4 put of 5 stars!! Definitely worth viewing!!

AMERICAN ULTRA is now available on both Blu-Ray and DVD at your local retailer. The movie is also available at your local Redbox as well as on Netflix and Video On Demand.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!