The Bourne Ultimatum

I’m still torn as to whether The Bourne Ultimatum is the best of the trilogy. After seeing this superb action flick, I went home and re-watched the first two installments. The Bourne Identity has the most plot of the three. It introduces us to the character of Jason Bourne and the eventual love of his life. It contains the most dialogue and acting on Matt Damon’s part as he struggles with learning who he is. Chris Cooper is the great villain, Franka Potente is engaging and hot, Clive Owen and Lost’s Mr. Eko put in appearances, and Julia Stiles is sorely underused. The first film was made by the amazing Doug Liman (Swingers, Go) who brilliantly jumpstarts the franchise. Unfortunately, the studio wasn’t a fan of his creative/chaotic technique, so he wasn’t asked back for the second one. And in stepped Paul Greengrass.

The Bourne Supremacy is the worst of the three in my opinion. While there are some great action sequences, there are too many shadows that keep the audience in the dark. The plot twists can be seen a mile away in this film especially when it comes to the bad guy. The saving grace in the second film is the addition of Joan Allen and the larger role for Julia Stiles. What bothers me most in The Bourne Supremacy was the cinematography. Greengrass prefers to keep things handheld and therefore shaky on the screen. In action scenes, the shakiness provides a sense of immediacy and puts the audience into the situation, much like Spielberg’s storming of the beaches in Saving Private Ryan. However, I get annoyed at the shakiness when it’s used in simple scenes of Damon’s Bourne writing in a book or buying fruit. Luckily, the shaky camera work benefits the last of the Bourne trilogy.

Paul Greengrass (United 93) is back at the helm for The Bourne Ultimatum. The opening handheld shots worried me but were thankfully used more skillfully in this installment. Basically, this movie centers on renegade operative, Jason Bourne, trying to figure out who made him into this super-assassin. After watching Supremacy again, I found it weird that Joan Allen’s Pamela Landy had already told Bourne his real name and birthdate at the end of that film and yet it gets repeated as if it’s new information in Ultimatum. That and it seems special that Bourne is coming home again even though Supremacy ends with Bourne walking the streets of New York. Maybe they’re hoping fans forgot. Regardless, the plot seems to be incredibly minor in this Bourne outing, I hear it’s not even close to Robert Ludlum’s novel of the same name. But people should know by now that the reason to watch this film is for the non-stop action.

The Bourne Ultimatum is full of Red Bull energy. While the previous two films take some time to slow down and reveal some plot, this one just keeps humming. The race is on and Greengrass keeps you on the edge of your seat with action sequence after action sequence. One of my favourite scenes involves Bourne guiding a newspaper reporter through a train station without getting caught. It’s a wonderful way for the audience to get some insight as to what goes on in Bourne’s brain as he surveys each situation. Greengrass does borrow some things from the previous films including vehicles on stairwells and bumper cars in tunnels, but the audience doesn’t seem to care. Because of all the action, there is not much dialogue in Ultimatum. I do find it sometimes serves the film better. I like the fact that Bourne doesn’t give some pithy comeback after beating an opponent, he just looks intense and you can see that he has no desire to hurt people but will if he needs to. Damon does well as an action-star. It was also nice to see the return of Joan Allen and Julia Stiles. The addition of David Strathairn, as the new CIA jerk, is fun to watch. Ever since Good Night and Good Luck, I’ve been enjoying the gravitas Strathairn brings to his roles.

If you want to be a part of the action, see The Bourne Ultimatum on the big screen. If shaky cameras make you queasy, you may want to wait for the DVD. While I think The Bourne Identity is still my favourite, Ultimatum sure gives it a run for its money. Here’s hoping that the studio has the good sense to end this series on a high note instead of dragging Bourne back out of retirement.

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