The Bourne Ultimatum

Some time ago, I wrote in my review of Supremacy that I hope that Ultimatum would be at least as good, if not better. It was better. This is basically one movie split into two. The last part of Bourne’s or, if you prefer, Webb’s adventures has a slightly more lively tempo than its two younger brothers. And all it’s really doing is filling in some gaps in time. The action is top-notch, shaky camera (some people don’t like it, I’m beginning to think I’m its only fan) and the choreography gets full marks. The whole part taking place in Tangiers is breathtaking. And New York is almost as good (the chase in the trilogy) and the cat and mouse in Waterloo station also has a special magic. Paul Greengrass has brought Bourne to proverbial perfection. He pushed hard in all the places where it was still possible after part 2. Nothing better for ending the series. Applause and satisfaction. (10/22/2007)

Excellent conlusion to Jason’s story. It has the most thrilling action of all the Bourne series, Greengrass has made one of the best action films ever. With his frantic but well arranged style he would be able to turn a conversation with an old man over a cup of tea into a monumental action sequence. The Bourne Ultimatum moves forward at very high speed and without a single quiet moment, demanding a lot of focus from the viewer. It’s not very intellectual stuff, but if you stop paying attention for only a moment, you won’t know who is doing what and why, this is how fast this film is. I’m fully satisfied. (09/05/2008)

The tense atmosphere, the unstoppable Bourne, and Greengrass's direction at its wildest pace. The chase on motorcycles and the subsequent rooftop pursuit, culminating in a suffocating hand-to-hand fight, is probably the best action moment of the entire series. Additionally, my favorite character Nicky is finally developed to an adequate depth, and the ending is exactly what a spy thriller finale should be. Those who don't have the previous installments fresh in their memory will get lost, but those who love them will be thrilled. Darkness, a man swaying on the waves, the viewer guessing, and the circle closes. (08/30/2007)

So let's summarize: agent Jason Bourne speaks several world languages perfectly and without hesitation, he drives better than a professional Formula One pilot, he can handle four highly trained agents on a few square meters without batting an eye, he knows all possible places and locations perfectly, so not only does he never get lost, but he is always several thousand steps ahead of the local police and the entire FBI and CIA combined (Moscow, London, Berlin, Turin, unspecified places in India, New York, Tangier, among others). Nothing ever catches him off guard, and he always thinks with a cool head, even when there are thousand of people with guns behind him, and he can sneak into the office of the CIA Deputy Director without being seen – don’t forget that it is a high-rise building where one office is next to another, and there are about 165,811,877 people everywhere. And on top of all that, he dares to make bold and ironic remarks. This is just a rough list of all the qualities of this elite agent. So where is the realism in that? And yet they say Bond and Hunt are over-the-top. (10/07/2007)

"I remember... I remember everything." Things have come a full circle, and Matt Damon is silent as a stone again and David Webb, alias Jason Bourne, returns to the movie theaters for a third time. The third Bourne isn’t any better than the second one. But I should add that it isn’t even a tiny bit worse. It has a little more action, unlike its older brother, it has a proper ending, again has incredible pace like few other pictures in this genre, gripping action, outstanding actors, excellent technical aspects, loads of scenes where the stunt-people must have really sweated, tons of ideas and... and qualities in all areas that are hard to describe. One almost insignificant problem can be found here. It’s that Greengrass’ version of Jason Bourne sometimes steals from itself. But who cares when it swallows you whole and doesn’t let you go until long after the movie ends. Although Ethan Hunt and even James Bond in his new guise follow the track beaten out by the second Bourne, despite both being extremely high quality, they remain deep in his shadow. And this ultimate experience does nothing to change that. Thank god. ♫ OST score: 4/5 (08/24/2007)