Review of The Bourne Ultimatum


The Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne is back, back with a cinematographer with parkinson’s.

Unlike what many critics have said, this is not the best Bourne so far. Probably the poorest actually and with a trailer that purposely mixes up scenes from the movie making you think the flow is different.

Bourne started well in the first movie and the second showed promise too. It is no coincidence that Bourne out-bonded James Bond in the first two movies, making the latest Bond iteration clone many aspects of Bourne. We need a spy to be able to kick the bejesus out of people and both Bourne and now Bond do this.The fantastic hand-to-hand sequences we had in the first two movies and shaky camera technique went over-board this time, making it almost impossible to see the characters go at each other. We’ll just imagine it instead so? The cinematographer was shaking it like a polaroid for sure.

Great country hopping locations, brilliant set-pieces, the whole running over roof tops was fabulous and the NY car chase was great, though no French Connection. The last quarter of the movie wrecked it all. It seemed to loose momentum and the whole movie had been building to a big blow up and then everyone just sighed. Very weak after that and an ending which let down the audience and the other two movies. Please let this be the last in the franchise.

Not related to the movie but it was fun when someone roared out “MATTTT DAMONNNNNN” at the start of the movie, a la Team America.

Rated 3/5 on Aug 18 2007 by Damien Mulley
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8 Responses to “Review of The Bourne Ultimatum”

  1. James says:

    I agree with all of that… the bits with the journalist in Waterloo, etc., were great, and the whole part with the Moroccan agent.

  2. Colm says:

    Dialogue really was kept to a minimum. So I think it’s difficult to build a great movie just around great action scenes. I remember not being able to change trains in Waterloo due to them filming, but that scene was worth it the inconvenience.

  3. Cian says:

    *** possibly spoilers below ***

    Ah, “Please let this be the last in the franchise” – I’ve mixed feelings over that, I want more but don’t want the series wrecked in future films. I’d rate Ultimatum as the second best Bourne film, with the first one being the best so-far.

    Whatever about the trailer mixing up scenes my main grievance was how the ending of the last film (at least on the DVD I have) occurs close to the end of the this film.

    As for the ending, even tho something like blowing up the building might have been more exciting, it worked well with the idea of Bourne winning (as such) but not having to kill everybody to do so. Rather ending with Bourne standing tall with gun-in-hand, he just survives – flicks to Extreme Ways music and a sense of anticipation is installed (maybe for the next film, maybe not

  4. Will says:

    Enjoyed the movie… I loved the way that movie 3 completely re-writes the “happy ending” of movie 2 (If you don’t know what I mean, go watch the last 10 mins of movie 2… remind you of what you just saw?)

    I also liked the way that the movies come full circle (see the fist 5 mins of the first movie).
    Will there be a 4… I notice that they ended it in such a way that the next one might not need Bourne. Remember that the books don’t need Ludlum any more.

  5. roosta says:

    Yeah,I loved the way they kind of remixed the end of number 2…I thought it was very clever.

  6. Sean R says:

    But it has Maaattt Daaammon and a hot arab guy too. Loved the movie, all edgy and dark.

  7. Chan says:

    Thought it was good, for the most part. Not as good as the second bourne, but I’m a little agitated over the star wars part at the end, it was like episode 3, your no longer david web, you shall be known as jason bourne, with the dark master of all the secrets and lies.

  8. Jessca says:

    i thought the movie was ok…
    the camera work was a bit dodgy… but other than that it was fine

    hope to see a follow up