The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

The truth is finally revealed in the third and (hopefully) final installment of the Jason Bourne trilogy. Featuring the same level of intensity and quality as its predecessors, The Bourne Ultimatum is a thrill ride that simply must be seen.

The Bourne Supremacy ended with Jason in New York playing mind games with the CIA. Ultimatum rewinds the action a couple of weeks and shows what led Bourne to New York. Despite what Supremacy may have led you to believe, Bourne did not come to the States to get even with the CIA. The first half of Ultimatum sees Bourne once again mixed up in the CIA’s cleanup operations for the failed Treadstone project under the new and more dangerous Blackbriar codename. Through a number of patently Bourne plot twists and action sequences, Jason learns that a facility in New York City holds the key to his true identity and past.

Matt Damon is starting to show his age a bit in this film, appearing noticeably more than just a few weeks older than he did in Supremacy. While this is largely unavoidable given the three-year layoff between films, it almost works in Damon’s favor. By now, Jason Bourne is weary from all the running around and now has had only a few weeks to recover from injuries sustained in Supremacy before being tossed back into the crosshairs.

High-octane car chases and frenzied fist-flying are now par for the course in Bourne films and the filmmakers wisely put more emphasis on the story. In New York, Bourne begins to have flashbacks to his recruitment to Treadstone but the details are murky. Only a suicidal mission to return to recruiting headquarters will once and for all settle who Jason Bourne is and why. Along the way, we revisit Supremacy’s brilliant closing scene and we continue from it to yet another dramatic conclusion.

Another positive twist to the Bourne formula this time around is the interplay between the CIA deputy chiefs assigned to bring Bourne down once and for all. Joan Allen returns as Pamela Landy, who was assigned to take care of Bourne in the last film. Landy is now playing second fiddle to Noah Vosen, played with cold, calculating precision by David Strathairn. Vosen is the head of Blackbriar, the newly retooled black ops unit picking up the pieces of Treadstone.

At first just a battle of ego and methods, the two deputy chiefs eventually turn on each other. Vosen thinks Landy doesn’t have the stomach to do what is necessary while Landy believes Vosen is needlessly abusing his power and resources. The scariest part of this interplay is that both sides have valid points in this very grey-area predicament.

As is true in real life, the resolution behind Jason Bourne’s identity is something of an anticlimax. There can be no such thing as a happy ending when you are a rogue former CIA black ops killing machine. Anyone expecting a warm, fuzzy ending will be disappointed. Then again, anyone expecting that sort of ending hasn’t really been paying attention to the story either. The ending we get is the ending we need, no matter how inconclusive it may be. The story of Jason Bourne cannot be tied up with a pretty bow.

Enough cannot be said for director Paul Greengrass’ commitment to his craft. While he only came on as director with the second installment of the Bourne trilogy, his impact on the series has been tremendous. Using a combination of fast cuts and long takes makes the action feel agonizingly real. Greengrass is wise to stick to the tried and true Bourne formula without allowing Ultimatum to feel formulaic. The CIA infighting and the sometimes confusing flashbacks to Bourne’s origins add weight and substance to what is mostly a white-knuckle collection of top-notch stunts.

What is perhaps most remarkable about this film is that it manages to live up to the impossibly high bar set by the first two installments. While other spy and action series sag in quality after a while, each subsequent film in the Jason Bourne trilogy is able to inject a new level of intelligence and ingenuity to the formula to match and honor those that came before it. This kind of consistency is a rare thing in Hollywood. After three films and five years, the Bourne movies continue to be relevant and engaging.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

Just as smart and dynamic as The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne should be considered James Bond with brains. While many spy movies get caught up in camp and gadgetry, the Bourne films use their wits and instincts to barrel you through one adventure ride to the next.

In this film, Bourne still hasn’t recovered from his amnesia, but he manages to remember all his combat training when necessary. Having a main character unaware of who he is and what he is capable of helps make the Bourne films enticing. We are just as clueless as our hero as to what is going on and what to expect.

Supremacy fills in a bit more on the background of the secret CIA program that trained Bourne. We also see more of his emotional side and the conflict he feels when confronting his enemies.

The movie is also very bold (explaining how bold would involve spoilers) and sets us up for a continuing trend of uncertainty. Another wowzer of a car chase and the stunt work is truly impressive. This is a must see action-thriller and an excellent companion piece to the original. I’m highly looking forward to the Bourne Ultimatum, due out Fall of 2007.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5