Slippery little devil

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

Bourne is back, and he’s here to rescue the cinemagoer from a summer of lackluster movies, woohoo! So far, this movie has been the one and only summer blockbuster that has met my expectations. Helmed once again by Paul Greengrass (who also directed the second), this film hits the ground running and never stops for so much as a breath the whole way through.

This is a trilogy in the best sense of the word. The characters carried through all three are expanded upon, and plot threads that began in the first two are wound nicely into this one. The movie very much relies on people having seen the first two (in my opinion, seeing them first is essential to appreciating this story fully). Like the previous movies, the dialogue is sparse yet its still densely plotted and will no doubt benefit from a repeated viewing.

The action is still as franticly paced as before. The fight scenes possess a sharp brutality that makes you wince with every blow and kick. As ever there is the obligatory breathtaking chase sequence (but he’s not just confined to a car this time round!). Another hallmark of the Bourne movies that is still present is its globe hopping nature (particularly around European locations) and makes the movie that little bit more distinct from the usual Hollywood fare. Greengrass's shakycam style of direction is still present though, which proved to be a wee bit distracting at the start.

Damon pulled off another stormer as Bourne. Not only was he up to the physical tasks the movie demanded of him, but he also maintained the extreme intensity that defined his character from the start of the series. And despite having the emotional range of a robot (due to his government conditioning), Damon still manages to make his character compelling for the audience. There’s also something strangely primal and satisfying about watching Bourne kick some serious ass :D

This time round he was backed up by another great performance by Joan Allen. Julia Stiles has only had a minor role in previous Bourne movies, but here she puts forward her most subtle and affecting performance yet. The series has always had great character actors playing “the bag guy we love to hate” and in this movie David Strathairn fills that role quite nicely.

The quality throughout this series has been astonishingly consistent and The Bourne Ultimatum easily maintains that standard. He may be a master of evasion, but I urge everyone to try and catch Bourne in the cinema ;)