The Manchurian Candidate (1962) popularized the premise of a sleeper agent. In that psychological thriller, a platoon of American infantrymen was captured during the Korean War. They are taken to Manchuria, where Chinese Communist agents subject them to intense brainwashing.
Now comes American Ultra, a reinterpretation of the sleeper premise that interjects romantic and comedic elements into the genre. Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is a hapless stoner with long, unkempt hair. He works the late night shift at a mini-mart in some hick West Virginia town. Mike has a broken-down jalopy and is encumbered with a panoply of neuroses.
Yet somehow Mike has an attractive, seemingly well-adjusted girlfriend, Phoebe Larson (Kristen Stewart). Mike wonders how he got so lucky. Initially, the audience is left to ponder the same thing.
The two have planned a romantic jaunt to Hawaii. However, at the airport, Mike experiences a severe anxiety attack. The two are forced to cancel the trip. Although Phoebe is disappointed, ultimately she forgives Mike. Why exactly is Phoebe so tolerant of the foibles of her pathetic boyfriend?
Unbeknownst to Mike, he had been programmed to be a sleeper agent. However, here the bad guys aren’t nefarious Commies. A program within the CIA is responsible for brainwashing American citizens, providing them with advanced training and turning them into sleeper agents.
After being arrested a third time for drug possession, Mike was recruited by CIA operative Victoria Lassiter (Connie Britton). As an alternative to jail time, she offers him the opportunity to be a subject in her newly minted experiment. Mike turns out to be the top student in the project. However, Lassiter recognizes that the program is psychologically damaging Mike. Conscience stricken, she decides to decommission Mike. This apparently ablates Mike’s memory of having been trained as an agent.
Screenwriter Max Landis (Chronicle) and director Nima Nourizadeh (Project X), do an excellent job of blending the film’s disparate elements. American Ultra starts out as if it will be a schlocky stoner comedy. However, Nourizadeh prevents this by extracting nuanced performances from his cast. Instead of devolving into slapstick, American Ultra resonates with a genuine poignancy. We witness the ethical qualms that several CIA operatives experience when they learn of the operation.
In addition, the film includes some excellent action set pieces cleverly conceived and well orchestrated. Mike dispatches a series of armed adversaries with the ingenious use of implements that are usually non-lethal. This includes a spoon, a frying pan, a dustpan and a can of crushed tomatoes.
The film marks the reunion of Eisenberg and Stewart, who appeared together in Adventureland, a coming-of-age film set in an amusement park. In that film, Eisenberg also played a character who was a chronic marijuana smoker. Eisenberg and Stewart reprise the chemistry. Their relationship proves quite touching in an engaging amalgam of action, comedy and plenty of heart.
***1/2
Jesse Eisenberg
Kristen Stewart
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh
Rated R
