American Ultra

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1:10

American Ultra

R

2015

1h 36m

Action

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

174 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel. 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 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 from getting smoked.

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Critics Consensus

American Ultra has some interesting ideas, but like its stoned protagonist, it's too easily distracted to live up to its true potential.

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Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Complex

Feb 24, 2017

3.5/5

American Ultra, built upon ridiculous premise and casting, is not only the funniest but unexpectedly one of the best action movies of the summer.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

May 27, 2016

A loud, ugly, slapdash combination of action movie, pot comedy, criminal romance, and conspiracy thriller - and about as lumpy and ungainly as you'd imagine such a stew would be.

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Alex Abad-Santos

Vox

Dec 17, 2015

2.5/5

There are patches where the film stalls and crumbles under too much explanation. That's a shame, because the movie does have bite and sterling moments. But you shouldn't have to be stoned to appreciate them.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

May 27, 2022

3/4

A rather exciting, downright visceral, very often romantic, and unexpectedly fun experience.

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Therese Lacson

Nerdophiles

Oct 9, 2021

4/5

"American Ultra" is Explosively Fun and Completely Ridiculous

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Feb 26, 2021

That the filmmakers have some consciousness of the criminal role of the CIA makes the movie, that is neither funny nor well made, a shameful project from the start.

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Albert T

@albert6565 5 days ago

This movie should have been ridiculous, but it was a lot of fun to watch and pretty exciting. Great cast.

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Dakota S

@HONESTREVIEWS01 Aug 18, 2026

American Ultra is on of those movies that leaves you wanting more! This is a very underrated film blasted by bad critics! I wish they would have made a series or a sequel to this movie!

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steve M

@RT56443411 Jul 15, 2026

I enjoyed this movie more than I expected. It is a sillly premise with the right cast. It was hit and miss, but the hits made it fun. The two leads had fun with it and the supporting cast was up to the challenge. Goggins, Hale, Leguzamo, Britton and Grace each added so much side fun that the ‘stupidity’ of the plot was made perfect. I have watched this film 4 times and each time I enjoyed it more. To me, that is the mark of a good film.

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Marc K

@wtexram Jun 14, 2026

Not a funny movie or realistic in any sense. This is the kind of movie that makes fun of the government in the worst way. Yet people wonder why morals decay. Terrible acting

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David B.

@RT14283473 Jun 3, 2026

I WAS ENTERTAINED!!!

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roe T

@RT16238843 Jun 3, 2026

It was good but not great. Scenes are predictable. There was this one scene in the ending where it says the location was in Manila, PH but the hotel staff and guests are foreigners and the captors are Chinese. There. That was the comedic scene.

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Nima Nourizadeh

Director

Jesse Eisenberg

Mike Howell

Kristen Stewart

Phoebe Larson

Topher Grace

Adrian Yates

Connie Britton

Victoria Lasseter

Walton Goggins

Laugher

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Synopsis

Small-town stoner Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting high and writing a graphic novel. 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 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 from getting smoked.

Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Producer: Anthony Bregman, Kevin Scott Frakes, Raj Brinder Singh, David Alpert, Britton Rizzio
Screenwriter: Max Landis
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Circle of Confusion, PalmStar Media
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Sexual Content|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Action, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 21, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.4M
Runtime: 1h 36m

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