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The Bourne Ultimatum

Review By: Michael Dance
MichaelDance@TheCinemaSource.com

The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy both earned their reputations for being rock-solid action films, and even a little bit more than that. Starring the amnesiac spy Jason Bourne, first conceived in Robert Ludlum’s novels, they made loads of money, proved Matt Damon was a convincing action star, and revitalized the action movie genre by focusing on intense, close-up hand-to-hand combat instead of going with the more-is-better, guns-and-special-effects philosophy of so many lesser movies. The series’ influence can be seen in no less than Casino Royale, which cut down on 007’s usually extravagant action set pieces in favor of numerous scenes of violent one-on-one brawls.

I was going into The Bourne Ultimatum expecting, thanks to the other movies, an above-average escapist action flick. What I got was a freakin’ awesome movie. I may not be able to pinpoint exactly why, but this flick pumped me up even more than the others and is, on my first impression, the best of the lot.

It’s not necessarily that the movie does anything new; it’s that it does everything so well. Perfectly, in fact. Any bumps or glitches in the first two movies have been smoothed out or fixed so that The Bourne Ultimatum comes across, quite simply, as the perfect action movie. Thought the CIA scenes with Chris Cooper slowed the first movie down? They’re filled with much more entertainment and intrigue this time around. Annoyed by the shaky-camera style that Supremacy director Paul Greengrass (also back for this one) used so much? He’s toned it down to just the right amount. The plot get too confusing the last time around? This time it retains its mystery but is easier to follow. Throw in Matt Damon at the top of his action-hero game, getting in some brilliant fights and a car chase that bests the previous movie’s, and I’ll say it again: this is a freakin’ awesome movie.

It’s very rarely that something is able to bring out the excitable kid in me this much, and even more rare when it’s also something sophisticated and stylish enough to satisfy any adult. The plot, or at least as much as I can explain offhand: Jason Bourne (whose real name, we found out last time, is David Webb) is still at large, still haunted by the death of Marie (Franka Potente), still trying to find the truth of his past. When a London reporter writes a series of articles on Treadstone, the mysterious CIA project that