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Title: The Bourne Ultimatum
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents will want to take note that while the violence is mostly bloodless the action is very intense and disturbing. A few brutal fist fights makes this one recommended for ages 13 and up. |
Okay folks, we’re near the end of the year and I’m burnt out on sequels. How many of them do we need in one year? So far I’ve counted ten...maybe twelve (there are two movies I’m debating on whether or not they count as “true” sequels). 80% of these sequels are the third installment. Of these third installments, 80% of them were bad on some level. I think it’s essential we really look at what this means: Out of all the sequels, eight of them have been third installments, and of those third installments I only liked two of them. One I thought was marginally good, a movie that may have been disposable but was fun while it lasted. Then we have “The Bourne Ultimatum,” the third installment of the Jason Bourne trilogy, though I think if I were to use the word final I’d be a complete moron. But let’s get to that later.
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For now let’s talk about “The Bourne Ultimatum” itself. Now, to be completely honest out of all the action franchises that have caught on with the public I believe the Bourne franchise is one of the more intelligent ones. This is evident in the fact that the characters are complicated, nothing is as it seems, the story goes haywire on more then several occasions while still managing to make sense, and the action sequences are very involving and exciting to watch. “The Bourne Ultimatum” has all this and more. Like the previous two films it’s by far leaps and bounds ahead of the other sequels that came out this year, which should make all the studios sigh in relief that this was one of the LAST sequels released this year! Had this been the first, all the other sequels would have looked even worse coming off the heals of this movie.
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Unlike the previous two films, this movie does not stand on it’s own. So if you haven't seen the previous two films, stop right here, this is not a movie for you. For those of you who HAVE seen the last films, read on! As with the previous films, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is once again on the run from the law. This time the CIA is getting involved, with a man named Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) leading the chase. This is a dangerous man who was involved in Operation Blackbrier, a top secret project that resulted in Jason Bournes memory loss, and possibly more. Being the head of the CIA gives Vosen an unlimited supply of military and surveillance power, of which he uses to his full advantage to catch Jason. Actually his attempts to outwit Jason don’t work as smoothly as they should due to Jason’s fast thinking and wit, which results in them becoming chess masters in many of their public battles, with both men manipulating people and surrounding environments the way they would pawns in a chess game.
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Just as if they were playing a game of chess, both men are eagerly waiting for the other to make a mistake. What Vosen doesn’t have, and indeed, it is proven that this will normally help in the moral support area, is a strong woman to back you up. In this case Jason has two: Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), who has taking a liking to Bourne, and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who runs into Bourne by chance and helps him on the run. As with the previous films, chases follow in action sequences that are difficult to follow at times, but are always exciting to watch. Truth be told, Paul Greengrasses unique approach to filming gives the viewers a sense that they are actually trying desperately to keep up with Jason Bourne, which in a sense gives the audience an “out of body experience” feeling. The actors are all perfectly cast in this movie.
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But while Matt Damon may be getting all the attention for his intense portrayal of Jason Bourne, the star of the movie is actually David Strathairn, who’s Noah Vosen is actually far more interesting then the Bourne character is, and indeed, is a breath of fresh air because this guy could theocratically defeat Bourne. What Vosens ultimate fate is I’ll leave for you to discover, but it is a bit on the anti-climatic side. And also some of the car chases and fight scenes go on for too long. They also come off as a bit unrealistic, as simple injuries like sprained ankles, whiplash, and broken teeth just don’t seem to be major problems for these people, no matter WHAT happens to them!
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And yeah, I guess it’s kind of strange that it takes the faxing of a document to get the US government involved, which I guess catches far more attention then all the ten car pile up’s and shootouts that occur outside everyone’s window. But now I’m being picky. Let’s take this opportunity to get back to that comment I made about the finality of this movie. As I said, if I were to claim that this was to be the last Bourne movie then I’d be a complete moron. There are at least two third party written sequels that were written without Robert Ludlum’s involvement;“The Bourne Legacy” and “The Bourne Betrayal.” I heard neither of these were very good, but tell that to a studio that wants to continue milking a franchise for all the box office money it can produce. I also hear the ending to the “The Bourne Ultimatum” novel was actually completely different then the ending in this movie. It was an ending that make it so that everybody knew that that book was the final book.
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Without giving away the movie ending, let’s just say Bournes fate is uncertain at best, and the Julia Stiles character seems to be withholding important information from Bourne. Information we may hear about in the forth Bourne movie. Still, I shouldn’t be sour. “The Bourne Ultimatum” IS a very good movie! It’s probably the smartest action film I’ve seen all year. It certainly puts all the other sequels that came out this year to shame. At the very least it’s not boring. I’ve been a little hesitant to recommend sequels because I get this feeling that if I do, they just won’t stop coming. But I can’t deny the entertainment value of this film, so I have to whole heartedly recommend it. I know that doing so will result in a terrible forth film, but I guess thats a risk we all have to take in the quest of seeing a movie that’s worth paying to see sometimes.
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