The Bourne Ultimatum was on over Easter, and after seeing Bourne numbers 1 and 2 I knew it would be worth a watch. The film continues from The Bourne Supremacy (film number 2 of the series) although it isn’t necessary to have seen the previous films. While it would obviously make the film more interesting, I think you could watch them all in any order and still enjoy them. The continuing plot while intricate is not too complicated, so unlike some spy thrillers, the Bourne films remain interesting throughout and you don’t lose interest half way through.
Specifically in Ultimatum, the story revolves around Jason Bourne trying to piece together the final remnants from his early memories, when he is reported in a newspaper (The Guardian or The Times, I can’t remember which) to be working for the CIA (incidentally, you can catch a glimpse half way through the film of the CIA using Norton AV to protect their computers, which gave me and my brother a chuckle). He meets with the reporter who wrote the article, and they quickly get deeper and deeper into the organisation which trained Bourne. The tempo of the film is quite high throughout, and even flashback scenes or communicative plot filler parts are kept tense and somehow nerve racking.
The trademark Bourne action sequences however are were the film really excels. There is a motorbike and a car chase (similar to the one in Supremacy) which take place on the streets of real cities, through crowds of people at top end speeds, so it’s mind blowing just how they did it when you think about it. I didn’t think the combat scenes however were up to scratch. The fighting was blurry and the camera was far to shaky and jumpy to actually see what was going on most of the time. The camera position switched almost on every punch or throw, and it just made me dizzy. It might just be the style of the film as in the earlier films, but the director needs to look at the Matrix fight sequences - make it one or two longer scenes done in one take from one camera. Maybe that’s a bit picky on Ultimatum because it doesn’t spoil the film or anything, I just think it could have been done better.
Background music is very good, as are the special effects, and I can’t really find too many faults with the film or the trilogy as a whole. I like how Ultimatum is very realistic (alright, as realistic as a spy/thriller can be) and it uses real life cities, in crowded places, it makes the film more believable than say, James Bond in the Arctic being chased by a giant *insert Dr Evil voice* “laser”. The chase scenes of Bourne leaping through windows, Motorbike sequences, music, sound, settings, and characters are all top notch, and the plot drives on and on without getting tiresome or boring.
The only downside I can think of is if you don’t like action/spy thriller type films then you might want to avoid the trilogy. For everyone else, it’s a must see.
Rating: 9/10
