It's challenging to keep the momentum of a successful series going through three films, and it's often about this time that a franchise will begin to peter out (take this summer's lame Pirates of the Caribbean and Spider-Man three-quels).
As for The Bourne Ultimatum, the third in what's so far been a smartly scripted, acted, and lensed espionage series, director Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy) ratchets up the action to such a degree that you could never accuse the guy, or his lead character, of fatigue.
You gotta feel sorry for Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). The whole movie he's running, crashing through windows, plunging off roofs, dodging bullets, and generally being beaten to a pulp (although that's nothing compared to the punishment he inflicts on his enemies). He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep, and he doesn't say a whole lot either.
Bourne is on a mission to uncover his past, his true identity and who transformed him into a brutal and efficient government killer. The search takes him from Moscow to Paris, London, Madrid, and Tangier before ending in New York City, home to a secret CIA headquarters specializing in covert operations.
There are people who can help Bourne get the information he needs to track down his "maker", so-to-speak, but they have the nasty tendency of being killed off by the same agents trying to rub the renegade assassin out. In one tension-filled sequence, he leads a British journalist (Paddy Considine) through a London transit hub with bad guys lurking around every corner. Bourne has an almost sixth sense of danger and manages to stay three steps ahead of his pursuers at every turn.
Matt Damon as the always-on-the-run Jason Bourne
Greengrass shot most scenes with a hand-held camera and the effect is jarring at times, notably in a Manhattan car chase scene that must set some kind of cinematic smash-up record. There are frames where you're not even sure what you're seeing, as if you're right there in the moment with Bourne.
Another high point is a pursuit scene through buildings and across rooftops in Tangier, in which Bourne is pursuing a CIA assassin (Joey Ansah) or asset, as the authorities refer to him. The assassin, in turn, is hot on the trail of CIA agent-turned-Bourne-accomplice Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles). Will the hitman get to her before Bourne gets to him? Heart-pounding stuff.
The government head honchos are all duplicitous creeps, from the man instructed to find Bourne (David Strathairn), to his boss (Scott Glenn), to the doctor (Albert Finney) responsible for making Bourne who he is. It's Finney's character, Dr. Albert Hirsch, Bourne wants answers from if he can get to him without getting smoked first.
There were questions back in 2002 when The Bourne Identity was released about whether Matt Damon could pull off an action hero role. But he's proven time and time again with this series that he's perfectly suited to the part, and Ultimatum's focus on action, not talk, makes for a heightened visceral experience.
Because Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum have all been such well-crafted, tight films, it would be best if the series wrapped up here (besides, author Robert Ludlum only wrote the three books). After everywhere Jason Bourne's been and everything he's been through, the guy deserves a break.
The Bourne Ultimatum (**** out of 5)
Rated: PG-13 (14A in Canada)
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon
Written by: Tony Gilroy and Scott Z. Burns
Related links: IMDB page, Official site, Apple trailer
Review by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
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