Bourne Ultimatum
August 25th, 2007
It was many years back that I stumbled upon the Bourne Identity, quite by accident in fact (I was studying at the time and hadn’t kept up with any movies at all). I was somewhat sceptical as I sat down to watch it, Matt Damon didn’t seem a very likely “action hero”. By the end of it however I was thoroughly impressed; it was fresh, it had action without being over the top or cliché and interestingly, the hero had an ounce of intelligence beyond knowing how to shoot someone.
Then came the Supremacy which overall I would say was a step back compared to the first. Killing Marie off in the first 10 minutes was bold, maybe too bold and it only served to bring a shallow “I want revenge” quality to Bourne which was only balanced by his ongoing torturous memories and guilt over a prior assassination. It was however, still a pretty good film and it served it’s purpose: to lead us into the final film of the trilogy.
[Don’t read the rest if you hate spoilers!]
I won’t beat about the bush here, I thought Ultimatum was excellent. From the start (which curiously is more suited as the end to Supremacy) to finish, it was engaging and filled with intelligently scripted action sequences (and of course, the usual car chase).
The few fight scenes present in the film are done very well, they’re fast, they’re gritty and they exhibit none of the cartoony, unrealistic qualities that so many movies do these days.
But what I loved most about Ultimatum were the “cat & mouse” sequences. There are two, one in a station and one in Tangiers and both are just prime examples that you can have prolonged, hard-hitting, tense, nail-biting action without the cheesy one-liners, needless violence and excessive explosions.
There’s a lovely symmetry in how this film ends too. Bourne floating seemingly lifeless in water, just how we first saw him in Identity and then the Extreme Ways strings kick in and he swims into the darkness. It’s a terrific way to end the movie (and the trilogy) although it does seem that they used some cheap cover rather than the Moby original which just doesn’t quite have the same effect.
If you’ve seen the other Bourne films, you need to see this, it ties everything up perfectly and even throws in a twist at the end when we find out how Jason Bourne came to be. If you haven’t seen the first two Bourne films, you should. I would say it’s almost verging on the criminal not too.
Jorge Quinteros
27th August 2007I went with my girlfriend to see the film and I thought it was great. And I say this without having seen the previous two at the time. Very action packed, and you can almost consider him the new 007 or something.
Kirk
27th August 2007I agree. I'm not a Matt Damon fan but the film for the kind it is was pretty good. I heard one critic make an interesting observation. He said Damon had perfected looking blank and while this might seem a bit like a slam it is in fact quite difficult to pull off without looking disengaged.
The fight scenes were particularly good. Quite believable while bordering on the extraordinary.
Adam
30th August 2007I saw it the first night it came out and was blown away. The fight scene in the cramped hallways seemed a tad long for my liking, but by only having the sound of them fighting (no other music or effects) it made it errily close to home.
One thing about the ending: When I saw him go over the edge and into the water, they made it seem as though he were dead. While it was a possibility, I doubted it right away thinkin "No, Bourne can't die!". Surely enough, he swam away.
I really liked the first two and, while I agree that Supremacy wasn't quite up to par, I'd definetly by a box-set of the three. The books, while good, aren't quite as entertaining as the film versions, which is a rare thing indeed.
Chef
19th September 2007A thinking mans James Bond> I can only assume they have the same initials by either an overwhelming coincidence or a knowing in-joke on Ludlum's behalf. I can't say I can distinguish between the three in either content or appeal as I thought they were all top class. There's an obvious distinction in style pertaining to each individual director, the latter having an almost similar intnsity to Greengrass's supreme 'United 93'. Overall though top notch (and more importantly, intelligent) action. Looking forward to the next installment. p.s. hey dru :)