The Bourne Ultimatum Review

Matt Damon is badass.

I know that's not much of a stretch to think of these days after two successful outings as superspy Jason Bourne, but let's remember that this was a guy who, right before the release of "The Bourne Identity" headlined a movie called "All the Pretty Horses."

In that time, Bourne's become the go to franchise for "realistic" action, and it could be said it's grittier approach to the spy genre inspired the newest Bond movie "Casino Royale."
Now comes the third film in the Bourne series, "The Bourne Ultimatum", which, doesn't exactly offer anything new (this IS a part 3, after all) and to me is basically a slightly improved remake of "The Bourne Supremacy"(which I liked a lot).

This time, the amnesiac assassin is back to find out where he came from and who created him. During his travels through Moscow, London, Morocco and New York, there's a great hand to hand fight that rivals the magazine beatdown in "Supremacy" and a rough, bone-crunching car-chase that would've surpassed the one in "Supremacy" if Bourne had maybe walked away with a little more than a scratch on him. Also, I never exactly got what the Bourne "ultimatum" actually was (same as I never got what the Bourne "supremacy" was supposed to mean)

If I'm drawing comparisons between the two later films in the franchise it's because they're both directed by the gifted Paul Greengrass. I hear a lot of people complain about the shaky camera work, even going so far as saying that it literally made them sick. I can honestly say that this has never been an issue for me, so I've never really paid much attention to that criticism. In fact, I think Greengrass's camera work is fantastic and it serves a purpose, making the audience feel the heightened anxiety the Bourne character feels 24/7.

The technique is especially effective during a great sequence where Bourne has to keep a journalist safe in a busy train station by communicating with the man via cell phone.
Matt Damon again is impressive as Bourne, giving the great majority of his performance through Bourne's taut, compact and lethally effective physicality. He doesn't have too much dialogue or clever punchlines to fall back on.

New to the franchise is David Straithairn, as the obligatory middle-aged government official (following Chris Cooper and Brian Cox) who's always one step behind Bourne.

Returning are Joan Allen and Julia Stiles, both good actresses who aren't given much to do, but find ways to shade their performances to make their characters interesting. Allen displays some vulnerability (and a conscience) through the tough veneer her job requires, while Stiles hints at a past connection her and Bourne might've had.

This is the best action movie of the summer (sorry, "Live Free or Die Hard") and it's got a satisfying ending that nicely bookends with the way the Bourne series started.

This is the rare big-budget franchise that has gotten better with each outing. To me, "Identity" was a B, "Supremacy" was a B+, so...

"The Bourne Ultimatum"...A-.