American Ultra Theatrical Trailer Analysis

Genre

The genre of the film is an action comedy with small elements of thriller and romance. This is since we are shown a couple fighting against the government with guns and radical weapons. The fact that this odd mash-up of props and genres are shown creates humour to the genre.
Narrative
The film is about a young adult couple, Mike and Phoebe. The two are laid back cliché stoners living in America. Mike is in fact a sleeper agent but doesn't know it until he realises he can fight with amazing skill. He is marked as a liability and is targeted for extermination by the CIA but may be too hard for them to fight. Phoebe helps along his side aiding him but becomes a target for helping Mike too.  This narrative is clear through the use of props and costume such as bongs and plaid shirts, as well as guns and men dressed as CIA agents.
Unique Selling Point
Audiences have seen films about a man fighting against the government which usually falls in the crime genre yet this film changes the main character and adds more quirky characters to appeal to younger audiences, The film also appears to somewhat parody general action/fighting the government film by making the main character a laid back hippy.
Target Audience
The film overall targets young adult American's yet due to Kristen Stewart's large part this also targets females as well. Many of the actors have appeared in films that appeal to young audiences such as Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga) and Connie Britton (American Horror Story). This ensures that mainstream audiences will watch. However explorers that follow the actors and enjoy the unique narrative will also want to watch the film.
Music
Five songs are used in the theatrical trailer. The first is intense and something audiences would expect from a cliché war film. This song is used when the background of sleeper agents is told to the audiences as if it's from a documentary. The song stops at 16 seconds to create comedic effect when Mike is first shown and a new song plays at 22 seconds. The second song is happy and upbeat like supermarket music but again stops and changes at 24 seconds where the music becomes intense. Again it stops and starts again at 42 seconds where a heavy bass and drums are played to infer action and 'awesomeness'. At 1 minute 16 this song fades sharply into the popular song 'Hey Mama' by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. This song is also upbeat and gets the audiences excited as well as target mainstream audiences. It is noticeable that the music stops when comedic lines or intense quick action sequences are shown.
Shot Types/Camera Angles + Pace
The trailer shows a wide range of shots which quickly change to connote that it's an action movie. There is a lot of long shots and low angles to show the urban setting which is common for an action. When comical parts are shown close ups and midshots are used. The pace is also slowed down when one liners are shown then sped back up afterwards,
Dialogue +Voiceover
The trailer begins with a voiceover from an unknown male which explains the history of sleeper agents and the CIA . Lots of one liners for comedic or an intense effect as well as general talk is shown to tell the narrative.
Special Effects
Many special effects and sounds are used such as gun shots and explosions as well as computer generated imagery to make the CIA look demeaning. CGI was also most likely used for such shots like the gun hitting the frying pan. There are also effects that didn't use CGI such as sugar glass used for when Mike smashes a guy through a freezer as well as a lot of fake blood. The effects are common yet still impressive for viewers that want something fulfilled with action to watch.
Credits and Intertitles
All the credits are shown on their own screens and are only shown for 3 seconds or less.The Lionsgate logo is shown 22 seconds in instead of a the beginning like usual. The next intertitles are white text on an orange background in capital bold font which is also used for the teaser posters to create synergy.These also zoom into the background and have a moving smoke effect.
There are also only a few intertitles shown as most of the trailer shows action and dialogue.
The first intertitle is shown at 1 minute 7 which reads "From the directors of Project-X" which is used to target explorers that follow the director.
The next credits go in order:
"When they made him a target- 1 minute 23
"He had to fight back"-1 minute 38
"This Summer"-1 minute 49
"Smoke"-1 minute 52. This is also a play on word for 'Kill'
"Them"- 1 minute 55
"All"-1 minute 57
"American Ultra"- 2 minutes 19. This credit also has chrome effect where the two words that slide in are in different colours, gold and red.
The last credit reads "In theatres August 21st" which also has links and rating information

This trailer shows a good balance of action and comedy which helps me when it comes to balance thriller with comedy. To get a good comedic effect I will need to use several songs that stop for one liners and are upbeat but also intense. I can also consider amusing props and new settings as well as shooting at night as this trailer shows a lot of shots at night time. I also want to get the low angle and establishing shots.