The Bourne Ultimatum

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
UNIVERSAL
RELEASED 17 August 2007
Almost over-looked upon it’s release in 2002, The Bourne Identity’ brought a European sensibilty to the American action movie. The stunts and fight scenes were realistic (and stunning), and Matt Damon brought an everyman quality and intelligence to the role. A bigger hit on DVD than in the cinema, a sequel followed in 2004 which now had a eager in-built audience, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. With it’s on-the-move documentary-style, ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ replicated everything good about it’s predecessor and added some backstory to Bourne’s mysterious past, leaving things on the verge of a conclusion. Now Jason Bourne returns for the final time, in a pulsating movie that follows our hero through Moscow, Paris, Madrid, London, Tangier and eventually New York, where we actually left Bourne at the end of the second movie. In a sense, this movie is mainly made up of action we weren’t privvy to three years ago.
Director Paul Greengrass (United 93) returns again, and his fast cutting style is more refined than before. Whereas ‘Supremacy’ felt a little visually confusing at times, the action in ‘Ultimatum’ is much more clearly defined, but loses none of the urgency. Virtually the entire movie is one long chase, with heightened sequences set in Waterloo train station and on the rooftops of Tangier. Greengrass actually filmed much of the Waterloo action amongst real commuters, and the logic of the sequence is perfect. If you know the area, you’ll realise everything the characters do is perfectly do-able. There are no quick scene switches to somewhere half a mile away here. It’s very much real-time action. The action is actually so good, people were cheering and clapping every time Bourne dispatches another bad guy after an intense chase. You really do feel the tension build inside you!
There’s a thumping score from composer John Powell, and the cast sees the welcome return of Julia Stiles and Joan Allen, while new additions David Strathairn, Paddy Considine and Edgar Ramirez all impress.
The ‘Bourne’ trilogy has been perfectly capped by ‘Ultimatum’. All the answers are supplied, and it’s a shame we have to say goodbye so soon to an action hero who once again raised the bar in the face of a comeback from our own newly-reinvigorated double-0 agent.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE