American Ultra

[from trailer]

Mike Howell:
Something very weird is happening to me: I keep killing people! There's a chance I may be... a robot!

[from trailer]

Mike Howell:
I just killed two people!

Phoebe:
That's awesome.

Mike Howell:
They had guns and knives and they were being total d*cks!

[from trailer]

Adrian Yates:
This guy is a trained killer! We made him! He's a security risk!

[from trailer]

Mike Howell:
I'm going to save my girlfriend!

Otis:
We lost two assets attempting to neutralize Wiseman-designate Howell.

Adrian Yates:
How is that possible?

Otis:
He was armed with a spoon, sir.

Victoria Lasseter:
Cherry Progressive, listen. Mandelbrot set is in motion. Echo Choir has been breached.

Mike Howell:
Is that a lyric from something?

Mike Howell:
I really am sorry, Phoebe. I really thought I could beat the panic attacks this time.

Phoebe:
It's okay.

Mike Howell:
It's not.

Phoebe:
No, it's fine.

Mike Howell:
No, it's not fine. This is something I really wanted to do for you. Then I ruined it and now we're going back home.

Phoebe:
You didn't ruin this.

Mike Howell:
Yes, I did. It's my fault. You should be mad at me. Why not?

Phoebe:
No. You can't help it, Mike.

Mike Howell:
Okay. Thanks.

Mike Howell:
You know what skives me out, Phoebe?

Phoebe:
What?

Mike Howell:
That car down there has moved so much. Like, it was built in a factory, you know, on a production line. And then it was like, shipped here.

Phoebe:
And then, like, this guy drove it all over the place.

Mike Howell:
Yeah, exactly. But all the time, like for years, or really for, like, decades really, this one tree has been sitting in this one place not doing anything until tonight when it, like, stopped the car.

Phoebe:
Yeah?

Mike Howell:
Okay, so this car is always going. And that tree is always just, like, stopping. You know? Like, it's just been stopping there for years until tonight when it met something that it didn't want to keep going, and it was just like, "mmm-mmm! No! You're stopping, too" [crying] And then this tree that has never done anything is f***ing, like, destroying this beautiful, really beautiful fast-moving thing.

Phoebe:
Why are you crying?

Mike Howell:
Because, Phoebe, like... am I that tree?

Phoebe:
No. No!

Mike Howell:
I think I'm that tree. And I think you're the car and I think I'm stopping you.

Phoebe:
You are not the tree.

Mike Howell:
Okay.

Phoebe:
I love you.

[first lines]

Adrian Yates:
Where do you want to begin?

Mike Howell:
[thinking, seeing flashbacks] Dustpan. Spoon. Noodles. Bear. Frying pan. Fire. Apollo Ape. "Marry Me."Where did it all begin?

Mike Howell:
Okay, it started three days ago, in the town of Liman, West Virginia. It's where I lived with my girlfriend, Phoebe. She is the only good thing that's ever happened to me. I honestly cannot even remember my life before her. We were the perfect f***ed-up couple. She was perfect, and I was the f***-up. And we were really, really happy. I wanted to make it forever, so I saved up for the perfect ring. And I planned the perfect romantic trip to surprise her. And then I f***ed that up too.

Mike Howell:
This is not the right moment.

Phoebe:
It's not gonna be like this always, you know? Mike, you're like the strongest, kindest person I've ever met in my whole life. I f***ing love you. You're a f***ing mess, man.

Mike Howell:
I know.

Victoria Lasseter:
Wiseman was my baby.

Adrian Yates:
Yeah, and it's still-born. So what are you crying about?

Victoria Lasseter:
So you're coming after my still-born baby?

Adrian Yates:
I don't understand why you're so upset here. Aren't you the one who shut down the program?

Victoria Lasseter:
Yeah, because it was a flawed model. Because we were hurting people. I didn't expect your yuppie ass to come riding in on a vulture and pick at the bones of my operation.

Adrian Yates:
I was made supervisor fair and square.

Victoria Lasseter:
You were made a temporary supervisor because you kissed the right asses.

Adrian Yates:
Because I'm the right man for the job.

Victoria Lasseter:
According to who? Daffy Duck?

Adrian Yates:
Well, I guess I'm doing something right because I've had the job for about two years.

Victoria Lasseter:
You're supposed to protect these assets. Not kill them!

Adrian Yates:
Victoria, we're clearing the portfolio. Mike Howell keeps trying to leave town. He needs to be eliminated.

Victoria Lasseter:
You're going to kill him for trying to leave town?

Adrian Yates:
That's a security breach. I'm just doing my job.

Victoria Lasseter:
He's a human being.

Adrian Yates:
They're assets.

Victoria Lasseter:
He's an American citizen.

Adrian Yates:
They're government property.

Victoria Lasseter:
Are you actually f***ing insane?

Adrian Yates:
Ow, language!

Phoebe:
How did this happen? How the f*** did this happen?

Mike Howell:
I shot those guys in the head. And that guy, I like, I spooned him in the neck and his sh*t just, like, ended.

Phoebe:
You just killed two guys?

Mike Howell:
They were trying to stab me, Phoebe.

Phoebe:
Why are people trying to stab you?

Mike Howell:
I don't know! Shh! I don't know, but I am, like, freaking out all over the place. Babe, I have a lot of anxiety about this.

Sheriff Watts:
[sirens wail] Get your hands in the air!

Phoebe:
Oh, f*** me. Yup.

Sheriff Watts:
Oh, God, it's Mike.

Mike Howell:
I'm sorry!

Phoebe:
Okay, so just lead me through this one more time. Just so I'm clear.

Mike Howell:
Um, I hit him with a spoon and his lungs exploded.

Phoebe:
It wasn't his lungs.

Mike Howell:
No, that's what happened. Because he couldn't breathe because I got him in the neck.

Phoebe:
Yeah, your lungs aren't in your neck, they're in your chest.

Mike Howell:
I know that, Phoebe. No, I don't know that. No, I do. Phoebe, it doesn't even make any sense to me.

Phoebe:
Okay. Okay, so you said something about a lady. What did she say to you?

Mike Howell:
Okay, so she said. I don't know what she said. Like, some bullshit. I don't know what she said.

Phoebe:
Babe. We're in jail. So maybe just try and remember and focus and put it together. What did the lady say?

Mike Howell:
Okay, she said Mandelbrot set is in motion. Echo Choir has been breached. We are fielding the ball.

Phoebe:
Mike, what the f*** does that mean?

Mike Howell:
I don't know. Phoebe, I don't know but I remember it like it just happened. I remember every single thing that happened to me in the last 94 minutes. 94 minutes? How did I even get that number, Phoebe? I remember literally every single thing that happened. I can picture it all.

Mike Howell:
Yo, Phoebe, where are we going?

Phoebe:
We are leaving. We are getting the f*** out of town!

Mike Howell:
No, I can't leave town. You know that.

Phoebe:
Well, you didn't have people trying to kill you before, I was thinking maybe that could motivate us here.

Mike Howell:
Okay, fine, so where do you want to go?

Phoebe:
Oh f***, I don't know!

Mike Howell:
Alright listen. We'll take my car and we'll go to Rose's house, okay?

Phoebe:
What? You want to get high right now? Mike?

Mike Howell:
No! I don't want to get high. Rose has like guns and sh*t, okay. He can help us hide out and I'm still in handcuff.

Phoebe:
Okay, you are not in any position to be making the plan right now.

Mike Howell:
Really? Well, who is? The cops are all dead.

Phoebe:
The guy in the thing. In the cell thing, doesn't see the gun, You don't point at it and go, gun!

Mike Howell:
Okay, no I recognize that now as, like, a faux pas. I'm sorry.

Phoebe:
And if someone who's trying to kill you goes "wait!" You don't go, oh what do you want to talk about?

Mike Howell:
Okay! You're right. I'm sorry. Please just don't yell at me, okay?

Sheriff Watts:
How many times have you been in this station, Mike? Since you were 22? Your probation officer must be the Michael Jordan of bullshitters because I've never seen you gone more than a couple of hours. Mike, tell me you didn't kill these people.

Phoebe:
They attacked him. He was defending himself.

Sheriff Watts:
Excuse me?

Phoebe:
What was he supposed to do?

Sheriff Watts:
You're his girlfriend. You're his mom. You're his maid. You're his landlady. Now you're his lawyer?

Mike Howell:
It was just a thing. It was just a thing that happened. I didn't mean to.

Sheriff Watts:
You didn't mean to? Two men are dead, Mike. There's no walking away this time.

Phoebe:
Hey. Hey, you seem, like, spooky quiet.

Mike Howell:
I am spooky quiet. I'm like, I think I'm in the anaphylactic shock.

Phoebe:
That's not what that's called.

Mike Howell:
I'm trying to think of stuff, you know. Phoebe, I can't remember anything. I can't even remember where I went to school. Did I go to school?

Phoebe:
Maybe don't think about it.

Mike Howell:
Did we even talk about my parents?

Rose:
Crazy is as crazy does and you dragged crazy here. And I don't even know what that does or what that is. You see what I'm saying?

Mike Howell:
I don't know, Rose. We just thought it would be, like, safer here.

Rose:
Safer from what?

Mike Howell:
Wait, why do you think it's dangerous?

Phoebe:
Yeah?

Rose:
Like I said to you before, because of the monkeys. The monkeys!

Mike Howell:
How did you know what that gas was?

Phoebe:
Okay... I...

Mike Howell:
No, no, no. What's going on? How do you know what that gas was?

Phoebe:
I don't know what's going on. But, listen. Baby. Mike, Mike, hey. I don't know what's going on! But I do know what's going on with you, okay? If you just listen. Listen!

Mike Howell:
Okay, tell me then.

Phoebe:
It's not going to make any sense right now.

Mike Howell:
What is going on with me?

Phoebe:
I'm your handler. I was assigned to you five years ago. Please understand, I'm CIA. Okay?

Mike Howell:
You're what?

Phoebe:
Listen to me. It's okay. I've been trying to tell you this for so f***ing long.

Mike Howell:
Phoebe. Are you not my girlfriend?

Phoebe:
Of course I'm your girlfriend, babe. That's what I'm telling you.

Mike Howell:
Please stop it. No. No, I can't even look at you. I gotta go.

Big Harold:
I don't know nothing about no fantasy football.

Rose:
Well that don't make me feel better, man, nobody tell you sh*t!

Big Harold:
So hurtful.

Victoria Lasseter:
Thanks for the location on Howell. I'm heading to him right now, but in the meantime we've got to go public on this. Call Krueger. I can't believe Yates has been training mental patients for his program.

Petey Douglas:
It is my duty to inform you that should you go public with this operation.

Victoria Lasseter:
It's your duty? What? We have to stop this! He's completely out of his mind!

Petey Douglas:
If you go public with this operation, you're committing treason and will be treated as a traitor to the United States of America. I'm sorry. I can't help you anymore.

Victoria Lasseter:
No! Pete! Peter! Petey!

Phoebe:
Babe, I'm not going to sit around and wait on the judgment of your drug dealer. Okay!

Mike Howell:
Leave me alone! Get off of me!

Phoebe:
Mike, relax!

Mike Howell:
Look, I just need to know. Am I real?

Phoebe:
Yes, you're real.

Mike Howell:
Are your parents really dead? Okay, how much of everything that you've ever told me is just a complete lie?

Phoebe:
Not everything is a lie.

Mike Howell:
No, please don't use your grown-up voice with me. No, I was in love with you. I am in love with you. I don't even know who you are!

Phoebe:
[crying] F***, Mike!

Mike Howell:
No, you don't get to fake cry with me, okay. They probably train you how to do this, don't they? To f*** with my emotions. Okay, well stop it. Please stop it. Hey! Stop it, okay! F***ing stop it!

Phoebe:
I'm not lying anymore. Just give me one chance. I'm not going to lie to you anymore.

Mike Howell:
Get out. Get out of my car.

Phoebe:
No. No, Mike. I can't!

Mike Howell:
Get out of my car, okay!

Phoebe:
It's my f***ing car!

Mike Howell:
Then get out of the car! Okay!

Victoria Lasseter:
Do you remember when you were arrested when you were 18 for the acid? That was when we first met. I was recruiting for a program called Wiseman. Which was basically designed to take third strike misdemeanor offenders and offer them the opportunity to volunteer.

Mike Howell:
Volunteer? For what?

Victoria Lasseter:
To be an experiment.

Mike Howell:
An experiment?

Victoria Lasseter:
Yeah.

Mike Howell:
That was a mistake.

Victoria Lasseter:
No, but Mike, you worked. All the other subjects that came in, they were all failures. But not you. You were a success, but it was driving you insane. It was driving everybody insane. The risks weren't worth the rewards. So I shut it down, and I gave you all new lives and new identities. A fresh start here.

Mike Howell:
Yeah. So you erased my memories and you f***ed with my head. And you left me here with a fake girlfriend.

Victoria Lasseter:
This isn't who you always were. The slow thinking, the inability to leave town. The phobias. We did that to protect you.

Mike Howell:
To protect me? Well, tell that to the guys who are trying to kill me.

Mike Howell:
If I die, I'm going to do it stoned and smiling in my bed.

Adrian Yates:
Hello?

Mike Howell:
Hello.

Adrian Yates:
Who's this?

Mike Howell:
You first.

Adrian Yates:
Oh, f*** me. It's you, isn't it? It's Mike Howell.

Mike Howell:
Yeah, who's this?

Adrian Yates:
Is the house not all on fire?

Mike Howell:
No. Man, the house is basically normal. So what's the plan now? I mean, like, do you surrender?

Adrian Yates:
F***, you got me. I surrender. Why don't you come on down to the Max Goods parking lot and accept my surrender?

Mike Howell:
The Max Goods on Wilson? Is that the one across from the tire shop? The Ten Minute Tires?

Adrian Yates:
Yes! That Max Goods.

Mike Howell:
So what happens if I meet you there. Like, how do you accept a surrender? Do I need to sign something?

Adrian Yates:
Well, if it isn't Miss Stockholm Syndrome 2010.

Phoebe:
Yates. What the f*** are you doing here?

Adrian Yates:
Whoa. That's unprofessional.

Phoebe:
Who's running this operation? Since when did desk jockeys like you run field ops?

Adrian Yates:
Well, I guess that's the problem with going dark for five years. You kinda fall out of the loop on a couple things.

Phoebe:
Do you have authorization at all? Where's Krueger?

Adrian Yates:
Phoebe Selburg. She who'd rather suck some stoner's cock than turn herself in for debrief, is going to question my authorization? I've read your file. You have no secrets from me! Your boyfriend isn't real. We made him. Oh, I'm so sorry that some lab-rat made you cum a bunch of times in the back of a Taco Bell. Yeah, that's probably a good reason to throw away your entire life! I guess it all worked out because look where I am now. In charge of a major operation. And look where you are. Under departmental arrest for insubordination, and your face is all messed up. And I'm going to get a promotion.

Adrian Yates:
Uh, your girlfriend's here. Would you ever like to see her alive again?

Mike Howell:
I don't know.

Adrian Yates:
So if I just took out my gun and blew her f***ing face off, you'd be cool with that?

Mike Howell:
No, that wouldn't be cool. Is she really there with you?

Phoebe:
Mikey? I'm sorry. But I'm the tree. I've been the tree the entire time, you're the car. Okay? I love you. So you can leave. You can go wherever you want and they will f***ing never...

Adrian Yates:
[hangs up] That was really f***ing lame.

Mike Howell:
Hey Phoebe! Phoebe? [over intercom] Hey Phoebe. I just wanted to say that I love you and that everything is going to be okay. I mean, not perfect, obviously, but better. Like, we'll probably have to get a new house. and also cars. But I'm coming to get you and this will all be over. Soon-ish.

Laugher:
I'm sorry. I can't control it. The things that they did to my head. They made you like they made me. But you're better than me. Who told you what to do?

Mike Howell:
Nobody.

Laugher:
That must be nice.

Krueger:
You directly interfered with a government operation. And as a result, you caused the deaths of innocent civilians. Is that correct?

Victoria Lasseter:
Yes, sir.

Adrian Yates:
You're absolutely right, sir. Thanks to Lasseter activating Howell, seven American citizens are now dead.

Krueger:
This is an operation that you created and spearheaded without any authorization, is that correct?

Adrian Yates:
Yes, sir. But you have to understand, I was self-starting.

Krueger:
Excuse me?

Adrian Yates:
Did I make some mistakes? You know, I did. Did I take some shortcuts? Sure. But in the end, I was just doing what I needed to do to create a cost-efficient exploit of a system already put in place. And if I'd pulled it off, you'd be thanking me. Right? Come on, you'd be f***ing thanking me, right?

Krueger:
Yeah.

Adrian Yates:
Okay! Thank you.

Krueger:
[kills Yates]

Victoria Lasseter:
I don't know if this is appropriate, but please do not kill me.

Krueger:
I'm your source. When I called to notify you that the sweep was happening, I did it out of respect and courtesy. And you've made me regret that now. It was not my intention for you to act like a child and try to save your puppy. The puppy was going down, I was notifying you of the puppy's death. But the puppy just sh*t all over everything! You have a crazy, scary rabid puppy that murders people and will still need to be put down. You understand that, correct?

Victoria Lasseter:
Yes, sir.

Krueger:
You better pray you can find a way to turn this into a win and pull a miracle out of your ass. Because if you can't, that's you. [looks to Yates]

Victoria Lasseter:
You already have your miracle, sir. My program worked. Wiseman beat Toughguy. Mike Howell eliminated 17 Toughguy assets single-handedly. That makes him the most effective asset we've ever seen in any of the Ultra programs. Ever! In 60 years. Pardon me for saying it, sir, but that is a puppy worth saving. That is a $400 million puppy. And you have him sitting in a holding cell right now.