Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great ending to a brilliant trilogy, 7 April 2008
Matt Damon was never on my list of favourite actors until The Bourne series. It's a cliché I know but Matt Damon was born to play Jason Bourne. I think that no film he's been in before or since has fitted him quite as well. For me, Matt Damon delivers his best performance yet in The Bourne Ultimatum.
If you are a fan of the first two Bourne movies, you will not be disappointed by The Bourne Ultimatum. For those who have seen the first two installments this installment fits all the information you've gathered in 'Identity' and 'Supremacy' and we finally see the full picture of Jason Bourne's troubled past.
The Bourne Ultimatum has a great plot and with fantastic action and fight sequences Ultimatum ranks as one of the best action movies of 2007.
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83 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
YOU COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER END TO TWO BRILLIANT SPY FILMS, 10 Sep 2007
This has been one heck of a summer for Action films, and trilogies, some good, some not so good. Live Free or Die Hard still stands out as the best action film I have seen in years and yet now The Bourne Ultimatum comes along and once again blows me through the back of the theater. If you've followed this series from the first installment then you can understand the absolute desire to closure in the series but still keep that element of mystery and that is precisely what the Bourne film makers did including Paul Greengrass, who has this distinct and often talked about format for his films that really works for a film like Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. He took over from Doug Liman (who stayed on board as executive producer for the latter films) and Greengrass flawlessly and perfectly picked up the story without missing a beat and followed through all the continuity, all the mystery and then packed a wallop with this final installment. His sporadic and crazed filming style (the constant shaking of the camera) works really well for Bourne because it's that kind of hectic and crazy action and it's not overdone to the point where you're desperately trying to see what's going on. Greengrass knows how to send the story in the direction he wants and then to unfold brilliant action scenes when necessary.
Matt Damon is just down right brilliant as the quiet, intense, depressive Jason Bourne who has had everything taken from him and is now getting closer to ever to figuring out his identity. Bourne's brilliance is as top notch as ever and he's honed his skills beyond what they originally taught him so he's even more himself. Damon embraces that so well and performs this role with no ego, he's not Matt Damon impressing us all as Bourne, he IS Bourne and he is perfect at it pulling off the fighting, the killing, the eluding and still a very sympathetic character. Joan Allen returns from Supremacy as Pamela Landy, the anti-heroine for Bourne who wants to help him find his identity and uncover the truth of project Treadstone. Allen is appropriately intense for this role, and a great female lead to Damon's intense male role. I might even say she would do well in a bigger role but still her performance is great. Julia Stiles also returns as logistics agent Nicky Parsons. While never a big role in any of the three films, she's been a presence and her presence in this new installment opens up a new mystery in the Bourne history. Stiles is a terrific addition to the cast and the only one to return for all three films except Damon. Amazing character actor David Strathairn joins the cast as cold blooded head of the 'new' Treadstone Noah Vosen. Strathairn is an amazing follow up to the character of Alexander Conklin played by Chris Cooper who was an incredible nemesis for Bourne. Straithairn valiantly takes over that role and is amazing. Add in a supporting cast of the amazing Albert Finney (in a sadly very small role), Joey Ansah (in one of the most amazing fight scenes in movie history), and Colin Stinton.
What is the best part of The Bourne Ultimatum? Easy. If the Bourne films have been anything...they've been story driven...one of the best, if not THEE best stories from an action film in history. Amnesia, love, killers, assassins, government agencies, a cover up...all of this has been heaped on in two movies and these films have been so story driven and they have done such an incredible job of doing this story that there isn't anything to do in Ultimatum but wrap everything up. The best part of that is it leaves it wide open for some of the most incredible action scenes, and absolute non stop action that will leave you completely breathless. A car chase that rivals any film, a brutal hand to hand fight that leaves your jaw dropped onto the floor, brilliant roof top escapes and gun fights, and constant chaos everywhere. I will only say one minor flaw was I thought one particular chase went on a little long, it wasn't varied enough to really keep you riveted as long as it continued but it climaxed in a spectacular hand to hand fight so it was all worth while. Ultimatum also continues Bourne's amazing and exotic location shooting while still bringing Bourne home back to the door step of the United States and the C.I.A. The Bourne Ultimatum is an incredible end to the trilogy and I PRAY they change their minds and bring Bourne back for another round because this series has truly only gotten better from one film to the next. 10/10
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32 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fitting finale to a superb trilogy, 6 Sep 2007
The Bourne series has been a refreshing change to the plot-light, action-heavy spy thrillers of recent years. The Bourne Ultimatum completes the trilogy with a thrilling and often dazzling finale as Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is forced to re-emerge following a journalist's attempt to uncover operation Black Friar, a top secret upgrade linked to Project Treadstone; the central piece to Bourne's exploits in The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002) and The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass, 2004).
The appeal of Bourne lies within his vulnerability as a hero and the film's sustained emphasis on his role as an underdog versus the ruthless power of the CIA. As if a battle of wits against America's criminal intelligence agencies is not enough, Bourne also has a continual struggle with amnesia as he tries to remember his dark past.
It is a shame that the films opening twenty minutes suffer from awkward, uneven scene changes which undermine an otherwise convincing plot. Although director Paul Greengrass excels in his ability to create tension and drama in key scenes, it is a significant blunder to manufacture a high tempo by hurried and perplexing globe-trotting.
Where the Bond franchise has invariably bored less dedicated fans with its utter predictability and invincible protagonist, the Bourne trilogy offers a welcome difference in its edgier, twist-driven plots and smart, complex hero. That said, The Bourne Ultimatum doesn't sidestep all of Bonds errors; the CIA staff are unbelievably daft and some of the film's finest and most compelling scenes are only just carried by Greengrass' skill in the director's chair. It does well not to fall into the wearisome technology-heavy world which 24 is occupying and stays a safe distance from the embarrassing geek-fest that was Live Free or Die Hard (Len Wiseman, 2007).
It is the action sequences though that set The Bourne Ultimatum apart from other films of its type. As The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971) marked new ground in edgy, gritty, realistic car chases; the Bourne films have re-invented the concept. Greengrass' in-your-face camera work can be tedious in its overuse but is superbly employed here.
The Bourne Ultimatum was the last book Robert Ludlum wrote before he died and superb as the film trilogy has been, lets hope that a Hollywood obsessed with sequels will resist the temptation to continue the saga and spoil what has been an enthralling series.
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