The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

The Best Bourne yet

The third (and final???) installment of the Bourne series once again finds Paul Greengrass at the helm which means we are in capable hands. Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne, the CIA-trained assasin who is struggling to put together the pieces of his past which have been shrouded in mystery ever since the first installment.

Greengrass' "shaky cam" approach lends the film a thrilling sence of urgency and tension. We feel right there in the thick of the action with Jason Bourne as he dodges CIA operatives who are out to kill him on his trek home to Washington DC where he was trained and hopes to unlock the mystery of who he truly is.

This is easily the best installment of the series. The action is relentless from the beginning and even when the movie slows down to catch its breath, the tension can still be felt. There is an absolutely amazing figh scene between Bourne and a fellow agent that concludes in a bathroom with a towel being used as the weapon of choice. I won't say any more about that. There is also a pulse pounding car chase sequence near the end of the film that begins, yes...begins, with a car being driven off the roof of a parking garage.

Of course all of this action, as thrillingly filmed as it is, would mean nothing if the film didn't have a human heart. Matt Damon's performance as Bourne is wrought with emotion and remorse. You can feel the regret, sorrow, loss and anger in even the subtlest of actions. His character's inner torment is written all over his face.

When the film finally arrives at it's conclusion, it manages to pull off a unique feat: it provides a satisfying sense of closure even as it completely alters our perception of Bourne and opens up a whole new series of questions about what made him who he is. This movie ultimately does what any great movie does: it leaves us immensely satisfied even while we want more. Although in this case, knowing less about the central figure may be the best way to wrap up the series. December 1, 2008

Would have been OK if not for 2 major flaws

Not a bad thriller, but this film has two major problems:
First, it is filmed with a "modern" shaky effect that gets tiring after a while.
Second, there is (to my taste) a major scenario bug: without giving up the end, there is a moment when Bourne is on the phone with his worst CIA ennemy after Bourne managed to lure that guy and his minions out of their building on a false pretext. At that point, the super pro and efficient Bourne decides to tell his ennemy where he is, launching a 10 minutes chase episode. Why on earth would Bourne feel he has to give up his location ? There is "some" credibility (that is to say, if you agree to go along with the genre) in the rest of the movie, this kills it. November 12, 2008

Now Nikki is involved, another movie?

This was not a disappointment. If you order the $9.99 widescreen it comes bare bones. If you like the inserts this has none. November 4, 2008

Bourne Ultimatum

Jason Bourne is still kicking [...] Hope there's a 4th. Matt Damon is one of my favorite actors and no body else could Ever play Jason Bourne...Nobody.This movie sums up a lot of unanwser questions but leaves room enough for another movie. It's Great!!
El October 31, 2008

good movie but what is with the awful camera shots

This is a good movie, but you get motion sickness watching the dialogue. The "artistic" motion of the camera looks like the person holding the camera was drunk and gets extremely distracting making it hard to watch October 26, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...