"The Bourne Ultimatum" is the third film in the Bourne franchise and the second directed by Paul Greengrass (who also directed the stunning "United 93"). The character of Jason Bourne (as played by Matt Damon in the films) is a kind of everyman James Bond. Rather than relying on the hi-tech gadgetry procured by a limitless government budget Bourne always has to make do with whatever's at hand. His weapons include ball-point pens, rolled up magazines, and books. He eludes police in beat-up old cars and stolen taxis. Essentially we have access to almost everything he uses throughout the films. In that way Jason Bourne is one of the more relatable action heroes in movies. He's just a guy who wishes the government would leave him alone. "Ultimatum" finishes out the story threads started by 2002's "The Bourne Identity" with satisfying closure and does so with exciting yet underplayed action and heart-racing filmmaking.

We find Jason Bourne still in Moscow as the movie opens following the events of "The Bourne Supremacy" working at unraveling the mystery of how he became a government assassin. He remains a CIA target but the catalyst that ignites this film is when an English reporter publishes an article about Bourne hinting that the source for the articles knows everything about the Treadstone project that created him. Bourne seeks the reporter out to get to the source, but the CIA quickly catches wind of the stories and moves in to snatch the reporter themselves. These events put the agency and Bourne on a collision course that lasts the entire film as he works to unlock the final pieces of his forgotten past.

The stories of the Bourne films are as intricate as they are entertaining and in order to truly enjoy what "The Bourne Ultimatum" has to offer you'll need to have seen the previous films. There's a couple quick scenes in the early parts of the film that act as catch-up but the new story gets underway very quickly and there's enough new story to keep track of without having to figure out what happened in the films you missed. I suspect screenwriter Tony Gilroy (who penned the other two Bourne screenplays as well) has a certain amount of fear of the government at this point. How else can you craft a scene where a man says the wrong word on a cell phone and within minutes the CIA has multiple "grab teams" after him ready to jab a syringe in his neck, throw a black bag over his head and throw him in the back of a van. The scene in question is the first of many thrilling sequences pitting Bourne against agents of the CIA in a public game of cat and mouse. It's never been more exciting to watch people walk around a train station watching other people. Greengrass has the ability to craft spy intrigue into everyday places and activities and that's what makes these movies so good.

If it's one thing the Bourne movies excel in it's fist fights and "Ultimatum" does not disappoint. Paul Greengrass' directing is as gritty and quick as ever and while I normally don't like fight scenes and car chases to be edited heavily it works especially well in this film. Bourne's fight with the assassin Desh would have found its way on to my Top 10 Fight Scenes list (ironically bumping his fight with Castel from "The Bourne Identity") if it had been out at the time. It's that messy grab-whatever-you-can-find fighting style that the Bourne assassins use that keeps the fights interesting. There may not be many wide shots, long cuts, or music to drive it but it captures that feeling if these kinds of people do exist this is probably how they fight. It may be a little flashy for a Bourne movie but I particularly love the shot where the camera follows Bourne as he jumps in the window right before the fight starts, and the shot where Desh does a barrel roll to get out of a joint lock made me grin. That kind of stuff always gets me. This movie's car chase is excellent as well but not as memorable as the one from "Supremacy."

It's a shame that this may be Matt Damon's last Bourne movie but if it delivers dumptrucks full of money I'm sure Universal will find a way to soldier on. I believe that the decision to revamp the James Bond franchise into something a little more down-to-earth was a direct response to the success of these movies, and now that the Bond franchise is firmly on track it'd be a lot of fun to watch these two try to out-do each other. At the same time this movie completes an accomplished spy film trilogy and even though there are fourth and fifth books (although not written by original Bourne author Robert Ludlum) the quality of the first three may not continue into further movies. The mystery behind Bourne's origin has driven these films and with that revealed perhaps he can return to a normal life; the kind that, unfortunately, doesn't translate well into an action movie.

Join our discussion on this topic