By Ryan Pike
In 2002, spy films were in dire straits. The once-benchmark Bond franchise had wasted away, delivering a horrid offering entitled Die Another Day to commemorate the series’ 40th anniversary and 20th film. As the vultures seemingly circled over Bond’s corpse, two heirs fought for Bond’s throne: XXX was an invincible force with seemingly no plan, save for blowing shit up, while Jason Bourne was sly, resourceful and surprisingly human. Lucky for movie fans, the 007 franchise borrowed from Bourne’s playbook and the comeback Bond film, Casino Royale, was a runaway hit.
Five years after bringing hope back to the genre, the Bourne trilogy concludes with The Bourne Ultimatum. Picking up about where The Bourne Supremacy left off in 2004, Ultimatum opens with Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) searching for clues as to his true identity. His investigation leads him to British journalist Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), who quickly winds up dead but also hands Bourne a juicy lead as to his origins and sends him on a mission straight into the heart of the CIA’s New York offices.
While Identity focused on Bourne trying to stay alive and Supremacy centered on Bourne’s thirst for revenge, Ultimatum‘s goal is to answer the questions posed in the previous installments. Specifically, who is Jason Bourne and who turned him into a bad-ass killer? These questions are answered fairly concretely, making the Ultimatum a fairly conclusive end to the Bourne saga.
As the third episode retains the same director (Paul Greengrass), writer (Tony Gilroy) and crew as its predecessors, it also retains the same flaws. Many filmgoers criticized the shaky camerawork of the previous Bourne films–defended by some as providing a kinetic feel to the proceedings–and it returns for this film. The result is a bit disorienting, particularly during tight shots of fight scenes and car chases. The proceedings can also come off as a bit formulaic: Bourne flies somewhere, fights somebody, escapes narrowly and flies somewhere else. Rinse, repeat as needed. The ending is pretty damn satisfying, but the journey towards it can be a bit drab at times.
Regardless of filmmaking flaws, the cast is great. Matt Damon continues his hot streak by returning to the role that made him a star. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen reprise their roles from the earlier films and are joined by Albert Finney and David Strathairn. Beyond Damon, Allen and Strathairn are given the most to do and chew the scenery to great effect. Neither Finney or Stiles make long appearances, but Finney makes the most of his time.
Five years after giving the spy genre a well-needed shot in the arm, the Bourne Ultimatum takes the series out in much the same manner it came in–with an abundance of car chases, exotic locales, gunfights and narrow escapes. It’s just a shame Paul Greengrass couldn’t spend some money on a Steadycam, because motion sickness is the only negative by-product of this Ultimatum.