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Genre: Action/Drama/Crime

Director: Paul Greengrass

Certificate: The Bourne Ultimatum was rated 12A by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie) i.e. Suitable for 12 year olds.  Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Violence = strong. Drugs = none. Sex/Nudity = none. Language = mild.

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The Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Ultimatum, is the third instalment in the Bourne series based on Robert Ludlum’s character.  The Bourne Ultimatum is an eye peeling, edge of your seat action romp that leaves the audience feeling they ran around, chasing Jason Bourne through the streets.

A mysterious man meets with Simon Ross, a reporter to bring to light top secret government programs.  Ross (Paddy Considine) also runs stories about Jason Bourne.  Bourne realizes that Ross may have answers to his questions.  Bourne sets up a meet with Ross to discuss how Ross comes by his information.  After avoiding the bad guys, a series of decisions leaves Bourne (Matt Damon) alone again, but this time, with Ross’s notes.  He follows the notes where they take him.  While Bourne is with Ross, government bad guy Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) is trying to find out who is leaking top secret information.  He is willing to do anything to find and kill the leak.  Agent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) gets stuck in the middle.  There are explosions, fights, Morocco, and clever out-manoeuvring.

The Bourne Ultimatum is stuffed like road kill with outstanding action sequences.   Stunt Coordinator Dan Bradley, Fight Choreographer Nick Chopping, and Assistant Fight Coordinator Jonathan Eusebio should be incredibly proud of their creation.  Their work, so much more than the director, makes this film such a spectacle to watch.  The fights look like if the actors were just one millisecond off, they’d be toast.  The fists, the feet and the improvised weapons were flying.   The scenes in Morocco are dazzling; roof to patio, through windows, and through unsuspecting stranger’s homes.   Dan Bradley has got to be proud of chase scenes using cars in different and surprising ways.   I would be dismayed to shun the actors in the movie, but the stunt actors should be as praised as the face actors in The Bourne Ultimatum.  The stunt people, the stunt coordinators and the fight coordinators deserve nothing less than a perfect score.  They put the up in this shoot-em-up!

The sound in the movie is also special.  Christopher Assells, the sound effects editor, editing gives the fight scenes credibility.   Either director Paul Greengrass or Assells made the brilliant decision to make the fights sans music.  That coupled with the outstanding foley in the beautifully choreographed fight scenes make the audience unable to look away and afraid to look!

Matt Damon is an action hero when he steps into Jason Bourne’s skin.   I was surprised by the depth of the plot and a good deal of my surprise was due to Damon’s acting.  How do you make a person who can’t remember why he’s fighting so adamant about the fight without making him a fighting zombie?  Damon does it with such precision.  He gives Bourne a rich depth of character for a character who can’t remember his past.

The supporting cast is fine.  I wish I could say more.  Their scripts are dull and can sometimes be downright cheesy.  David Strathairn is unfortunately saddled with the worst character in the movie, evil-in-charge-agent-man, Noah Vosen.  The character uses so many cheese-log-esque lines, I wonder if the writers, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi, and Tony Gilroy actually read his lines out loud.  Was the director there when Strathairn was saying the lines?  While they may be accurate to what a person in his position might actually say, it feels trite.  The best supporting character, in my opinion is the asset at the end of the movie.

Even with the moments of eye rolling cliché, I liked the story in The Bourne Ultimatum.  I often have figured out movie’s endings fifteen minutes in, especially in spy-action movies.  I didn’t figure out the ending before the reveal at the end.

The Bourne Ultimatum should not be missed in the theatre; it would lose a great deal of the splendour and spectacle if you waited for DVD.  This movie is worth the cost of admission.

Reviewed by LaRae Meadows, Premier Movie Reviews 2007

If you enjoy The Bourne Ultimatum you might also enjoy: Casino Royale, The Bourne Identity,  The Bourne Supremacy, or The Sum Of All Fears

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS:  PAUL GREENGRASS: The Bourne Supremacy, United 93.  MATT DAMON: Ocean's Eleven,  Ocean's Twelve,  Syriana,  The Bourne Identity,  The Bourne Supremacy,  The Legend of Bagger Vance,  The Talented Mr. Ripley.  JULIA STILES: Mona Lisa Smile, Ocean's Eleven,  Ocean's Twelve.  DAVID STRATHAIRN: Twisted.  SCOTT GLENN: Vertical Limit.  PADDY CONSIDINE: Cinderella Man,  Hot Fuzz,  In America.  ALBERT FINNEY: Erin Brockovich.

Matt Damon

Julia Stiles

David Strathairn

Scott Glenn

Paddy Considine

Edgar Ramirez

Albert Finney

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