American Ultra
Short description
Mike Howell spends his days in a small town getting high and working a dead-end job, living with his girlfriend Phoebe. Their uneventful routine is interrupted when Mike discovers he possesses combat skills he never knew he had, and it emerges that he is a sleeper agent trained by the US government. His past resurfaces, and he becomes the target of a clandestine operation, forcing him and Phoebe to go on the run while he draws on abilities he did not know he had.
Nima Nourizadeh directed the film, his second feature after Project X (2012), from a screenplay by Max Landis. Jesse Eisenberg plays Mike and Kristen Stewart plays Phoebe, with Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins and John Leguizamo among the supporting cast. The production, a US-Swiss co-production, had a budget of 28 million USD and took about 27 million USD worldwide.
Audience response has been moderate: on IMDb it holds 6.1/10 from 100,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1/10 from 3,024 votes. A film critics' rating of 5.4/10 from 174 reviews places critical opinion slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- As a promotional stunt, Lionsgate studio distributed marijuana to attendees of Comic Con in San Diego who had the appropriate medical authorization.
- Jesse Eisenberg told in an interview that, in preparation for the role of a pothead, he lived with his cousin Andrew Eisenberg, who taught him the speech and gait of people who frequently use marijuana. Jesse Eisenberg also noted that without Andrew's help, he would likely not have been able to handle the role.
- The role of Victoria Lasseter could have gone to Uma Thurman, but a contract with her was never signed. Sharon Stone was supposed to replace Thurman, but she left the project due to a conflict in filming schedules. Ultimately, the role went to Connie Britton.
- For her role in this film, Kristen Stewart dyed her hair a bright red color.
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