Movie review | ‘American Ultra’ surprisingly violent but well cast

American Ultra ***

Thirty-one-year-old Jesse Eisenberg, the co-star of the dark action comedy “American Ultra,” came on the Hollywood scene about the same time as Michael Cera, now 27. Both actors, nearly interchangeable, perfectly captured the awkward late adolescent nerd character, parlaying it into box-office gold.

“American Ultra” attempts to continue on in the vein of whacky, teen action flicks such as Cerra’s “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” and “Superbad,” and Eisenberg’s “Zombieland.”

Eisenberg proved his acting chops in “Social Network,” playing real-life Facebook lord Mark Zuckerberg.

“American Ultra” co-star, Kristen Stewart (Bella from the “Twilight” series) plays the long-suffering girlfriend of convenience store clerk and stoner, Mike Howell. Each, with a long forgotten and repressed past, are suddenly thrust into chaos when CIA “cleaners” show up in their small West Virginia town to wipe them from the map.

Topher Grace (“That ‘70s Show”) stars as the ladder-climbing, overzealous CIA field agent in charge. The extremely violent and occasionally tender and funny movie, could have been great, like “Zombieland,” but often misses the mark. Still, it’s worth seeing for the likeable cast, clever storyline, and bizarre and comically bloody action.

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Movie review | ‘American Ultra’ surprisingly violent but well cast."