Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘American Ultra’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Everyone thinks that they have the potential to be much more than they are, and you know what, they are right, they just have to fight for it. There is no way that you can prove yourself if you are not willing to take the steps. Of course, you may stumble and fall, but that is part of life and if you have never reached your highest potential, how do you know what it is. Keep your head up, even when you fall since there are other people watching you and waiting to see what greatness can be released.
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Mike Howell has the life that he is looking for, well maybe not the best life but with the love of his girlfriend Phoebe, he has no regrets. With a passion for getting stoned, his feelings for Phoebe are much stronger than that and the past five years that they have spent together have been the best years of his life. Wanting to do something special with her, Mike plans a trip to Hawaii and is ready to pop the question while they are away, but there is a problem with this plan as Mike has panic attacks whenever he is ready to leave town. Missing their flight due to this, Mike and Phoebe head home and even though she is upset about not being able to take the vacation, Mike is more upset with not knowing how to ask his love to marry him.

While at work, Mike works on his comic about a space ape and is having a good time making up the new storylines. With another great episode in his head, he pitches it to Phoebe, and she loves the idea and begs him to write it down. But Mike is not about remembering everything, he would rather talk about it to make sure that it all seems good.  With plans of things to do in their free time, the couple always finds a quiet place to get high, tell stories and watch the world spin around them. But Mike is getting more emotional than normal these days and when he ends up in tears when seeing a tree that was hit by a car, Phoebe knows that there is something wrong with him.

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​The CIA has a sleeper agent program that has been mothballed for many years and the new acting station head believes that it is time to get rid of it. Calling in hit squads on all of the remaining active cells, Yates is looking to make a name for himself at the agency, but the agent in charge, Lasseter, is not ready to see her babies get killed for no reason. Going to Mike’s little shop, Lasseter tries to activate him using an unfamiliar phrase, but when he does not understand it, she knows that his death is on her hands. Thinking about the words, Mike spots a couple of guys messing with his car in the parking lot and tells them to leave, but when they come at him with guns drawn, Mike is able to take care of himself. With two dead bodies in the parking lot, Mike does the only thing that he knows is right and calls Phoebe to come and listen to his side of the story, but before he is able to get it all out, the police show up and bring him in. 
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Hearing the news that two of his agents have been killed by a tweaked out stoner, Yates knows that Mike has been activated and it is time to put the asset down before anyone else gets hurt. Calling in another strike team to take out Mike in the police station, he is about to find out the power of the sleeper as his team has been taken out once again. Knowing that the threat of national security is at stake, Yates orders a quarantine of the town so Mike will not be able to escape, but with Lasseter in town as well, he has no idea what fight is coming his way. With Mike being able to subdue the forces that are sent to seize him, he finds out a nasty little secret about Phoebe that he wishes that he could forget. As the numbers dwindle in Mike’s corner and Phoebe is taken hostage by the CIA, Mike only has one thing to fight for, the freedom of the woman that he loves.

The way this movie was pitched when it came out, I thought it would be all laughs all the time, but it has a much darker feel to it than expected. Even though there are some funny jokes, most of them are in an incredibly dark vein that do not get received by the crowds as easily. The action in the movie may not seem to be believable, a stoner being able to take out CIA agents, but that is the point, he is a sleeper agent that has no idea what his potential really is. With the love story trumping all, it was nice to see Mike sober up and be able to come to terms with what is really important to him, I think that is called character growth. I must admit that Yates stole the show for me as he is the ultimate baddy and you want to hate him with all of your heart, but he has his sights set on the mission and anyone that gets in his way will be dealt with swiftly and firmly. It’s a middle of the road action movie with plenty of scene stealers that will make you smile; I just wish they had some more of the comedic lines to make sure you know that this was a comedy as well.

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