American Ultra Red Band Trailer: Jesse Eisenberg is The Stoned Identity

If you loved Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart together in Adventureland, you’re in luck because they’re reunited for this here action movie (and for an upcoming Woody Allen film, as well). This time they’re a stoner couple living as chill as can be until Eisenberg is revealed to be a top-secret killing machine. Like a drug-loving Jason Bourne — different from how Jeremy Renner was the chems-addicted Jason Bourne — Eisenberg’s character isn’t aware he’s a trained assassin until his skills suddenly show themselves during an act of self-defense.

It’s hard to tell from this Red Band trailer for American Ultra what exactly Stewart’s role is other than love interest. She does appear to join in on the action in brief clips, but if she’s not also a secret killer then the balance of these two leads will be significant. This isn’t The Pineapple Express, where James Franco and Seth Rogen are equals, both average-joe stoners who find themselves in an action movie plot. This movie also doesn’t look to be nearly as violent. A lot of killing, sure, and some blood from Eisenberg’s nose. But that movie was Violent.

American Ultra was written by Max Landis, who scripted the surprisingly good Chronicle, so it could turn out to be much more interesting than it looks. We’ve been through the rogue assassin must be stopped by the people who made him thing already. But we’d also been through countless zombie movies before Zombieland and Eisenberg helped to make that feel fresh. The Oscar-nominated actor, soon to be the new Lex Luthor, makes interesting choices. Stewart, meanwhile, has only done higher-brow stuff since Twilight ended. Does this fit?

Nima Nourizadeh is the director, which might mean something to me if I’d seen Project X, but that movie doesn’t have a good reputation (that’s mainly why I didn’t see it). Depending on what it means for you, perhaps you’ll be interested in seeing American Ultra when it opens on August 21st.

Here’s a reminder of Eisenberg and Stewart’s chemistry from six years ago:

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