'American Ultra' Reviews: Are Critics Ultra-Impressed?

With the right amount of romance, violence and star power, "American Ultra" seems to have everything it needs to be a smash, right?

Well, not according to most critics.

The Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg-starring flick, an action-adventure-comedy about a stoner with a secret past as a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent, garnered only a 40 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, with some reviews taking a particularly harsh tone.

"It's difficult to articulate without going into near unprofessional superlatives, just how punchable the odious and insufferable 'American Ultra' is. ... While it may sound like an entertaining crossbred of genres, it's really just a hollow hybrid experiment gone horribly wrong.” -- Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist

“The movie simply doesn't know if it wants to be Jason Bourne or Cheech and Chong. A few comic throwaways work (few mutter quite like Eisenberg) but the thriller side of the picture is airless, as is the love story." -- Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian

Even Stewart and Eisenberg's solid performances couldn't seem to save this one, many critics say.

"Full of clever ideas, bloody violence so cartoonish that it's almost cuddly, and an eminently likable leading pair in Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, the film has a lot going for it but, like a fridge-clearing omelet prepared after too many bong hits, it can't manage to cook all these goodies into a palatable whole." -- Andrew Barker, Variety.com

Some critics took aim at the voilence.

"(Director Nima) Nourizadeh and [writer Max] Landis are clearly going for a Tarantino level of blood-soaked dark humor, and while their cast is game, the film's bursts of violence grow tiresome as its plot gets more and more ludicrous and hard to swallow." -- Alonso Duralde, TheWrap.com

"Stoners take a bloodbath in 'American Ultra,' a genre mash that's mildly amusing until it can't think of anything else to do besides flop around in the deep end of conspicuous gore." -- Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

But not everyone is hating on the flick. As one points out, it's summertime!

"'American Ultra' probably won't win any awards that don't come from Spike TV or 'Soldier of Fortune,' but it’s August, not Oscar season; check your brain at the popcorn-butter pump in the lobby and enjoy it." -- Leah Greenblatt, EW.com

Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg talk to Made in Hollywood about reuniting after "Adventureland" for "American Ultra":

https://youtu.be/buETak07N_k