American Ultra is one of the more underrated films of 2015. An action comedy containing equal dollops of heart and humour, it presents us with Jesse Eisenberg as an anxiety-ridden pothead in a dead-end job at a convenience store (which isn't the hardest thing to imagine). The twist is, he also turns out to be a CIA sleeper agent. It's a fun twist and a good gimmick to see Eisenberg expanding into some chop-socky action sh*t, and he handles it well. The script from love-him-or-hate-him Max Landis is great and moves at a clip, providing one of the best lines to grace the big screen this year in "Hey! You f*ck monkeys!". The supporting characters all get great lines and moments to shine, and as a Topher Grace apologist, it's great to see him here playing up to the Yuppie image that he's been landed with. On the whole, American Ultra is a fun ride with laugh-out-loud moments throughout, with some great action beats and one extremely good use of 'Snow' by the Chemical Brothers. The Blu-ray is one of the best of the year because a) it's the opportunity to own an underrated movie and b) it actually put some effort into its Making Of when by all accounts it didn't have to. It's unnecessarily in-depth, but screw it - it's an interesting peek behind the curtain. Paired with director Nima Nourizadeh's cool commentary and an entertaining gag reel, it becomes a neat little package for a neat little film.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
