"The Bourne Ultimatum" is the kind of action adventure that explodes at the beginning with a slew of unanswered questions and an urgent sense of mystery.
The film takes off at a sprint from where "The Bourne Supremacy" ended. As the movie progresses many questions are answered through a labyrinth of mind games and perfectly choreographed cat-and-mouse chase scenes. In the third installment of the Bourne series, the storyline again follows Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) throughout the world, as he searches for answers relating to his shadowed past. Pieces of the puzzle begin to connect when Bourne receives information from Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), an investigative journalist who has taken a liking to Bourne's story and history. Ross uncovers some important facts pertaining to the organization that is responsible for keeping Bourne in the situation he is in.
Ross and Bourne's search for answers is challenged by a dark CIA subdivision led by Noah Vosen (David Strathairn). Vosen uses any actions and tactics possible to thwart Bourne's mission. His character, new to the series, quickly and fittingly takes on the role of the ultimate bad man. Vosen's actions set up most of the live-or-die sequences, and he extends his power through a handful of assassins, who seem equal in strength to Bourne.
Working with Vosen is returnee Pam Landy (Joan Allen) whose CIA-shelled character emits a secretively compassionate relationship to Bourne throughout the film. Her character returns to perfect form and is vital to much of the suspense. Although she works alongside Vosen, her motives are different and she is constantly trying to stay a step ahead. Also returning to Bourne's life is the cute and innocent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles). Parsons brings with her a whole new level of mystery on its own. Although her character answers some very important nagging thoughts, by the end she creates one of the largest gaps in questions to be answered.
The film stays afloat and healthy because the director and actors convey the storyline so powerfully. Director Paul Greengrass, whose other films include "The Bourne Supremacy" and "United 93," excels in making the fight scenes completely realistic and believable. The hand-to-hand combat stands out as the biggest treat, and is perfectly staged and shot. The blow-by-blow punches and kicks are enough to keep the audience so tuned-in to the scene that, momentarily and in a good way, nothing else matters.
Stellar filming and the logic to keep the speed of the action sequences in real time, instead of taking a risk with a stop and go slow motion format, are why the fight scenes are so powerful. All of the filming was done without computer graphics, which makes it as realistic as watching a fight take place in person. Throughout the film, Greengrass's choices of filming angles and scene length are intelligent.
Greengrass makes a great film out of an excellent script put together by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi. These three writers have taken a well-established and complex novel, written by Robert Ludlum, and turned it in to an incredibly fitting ending to an action trilogy defined by the 21st century. The challenge of making this film easy to follow and stay connected to was conquered magnificently. Throughout the film there is always something going on to capture attention, whether a start to a new mystery or an end to an old. A great transistor in this film is its spread of locations. The movie begins in Moscow and then proceeds to places such as Paris, London, Tangiers and New York City.
One fascinating element of the film is how vividly unique each location is portrayed. The filming and use of the different locations make the audience feel as if they are actually walking the streets, with the action playing out before their very eyes. All aspects of "The Bourne Ultimatum" are entwined perfectly into a beautifully crafted small knot.
As the story progresses, the knot is unraveled more and more until all of the dark corners are exposed to light. Bourne fans will leave the theater satisfied and able to sleep at night, their minds comforted by answers. The film is everything and anything that could ever be asked of the final part of a trilogy that was so intensely built up in the first two films.
Matthew Broderick can be reached at mbroderick@student.umass.edu.
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