Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Bourne Ultimatum is the third and probably the last installment of the Bourne trilogy which debuted with Bourne Identity in 2002, then followed by Bourne Supremacy in 2004.

BU may be the last installment but in terms of story line and plot development it's more like an expansion of the second one, a two and a half if you will. BU only picks up where BS left off more than an hour into the movie when Bourne makes contact with Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) in New York City. A better half of BU actually traces what happened before Bourne finally comes back to New York City to come face to face with the source of all his troubles.

Towards the end of BS, the second Bourne movie, there is this five minute scene that seems unnecessary and anti-climatic. That is when Bourne finds the daughter, Irena Neski, played superbly by the achingly beautiful Oksana Akinshina, of his first kills and tells her the truth that her mother didn't kill her father nor herself, they were murdered by him. For the most part, Bourne's character is a no acting required job, but this last scene establishes Bourne's humanity and gives Matt Damon instant credibility as a bona fide actor that's indeed worthy of Oscar nomination. He has blood in his hand and there is nothing he can do to bring back the dead, the next best thing he can do at least is to confess, to unburden the truth, not to ask for forgiveness but to say sorry. The story and plot line can be convoluted but humanity cannot.

BU begins probably some night after (or even before) Bourne visits Irena Neski, when he is pursued by a couple of cops in Moscow. Bourne points a gun at one of the cops and the Russian pleads for his life. Bourne says "I don't have arguments with you." and walks away leaving the guy unharmed. This pretty much echoes what the Bourne character is toward the end of the second movie. He is not an indiscriminate killing machine even though he is capable of such. He is a retired assassin with remorse and guilt all over him.

Then the story unfolds in neck breaking speed with obligatory car chases, hand to hand combats, gun shots and more globe trotting to exotic locales. Anything you have in the previous two Bourne movies are boilertemplated here down to the hotel scene where Nicky Parsons (Julie Stiles) cut and dye her own hair. I won't say they are better but they are just as good and intelligently executed as those found in the first two Bourne films.

At the end of BS, we learned Jason Bourne is David Webb and was born 4-15-71 from the mouth of Pam Landy. What we didn't know then we know now, this message from Landy carries the code to find out where this whole Jason Bourne business begins.
Spoiler in white text follows if you so intend to know:
Landy tells Bourne the training facility where it all begins is at 415 E 71st Street. How Bourne figures out that is a code is anybody's guess. On his various passports, Bourne's birthday is printed as Aug 20, 1969 if it means anything at all. They didn't know the ending when they were shooting the second one, did they? So I am not surprised there is a bit of retrofitting the storyline of two into three. There is some inconsistency problem here as well; the end of BS as Bourne walks the street of New York City, it's obviously Spring or Fall. However when in BU, you see snow around street corners.

Foot Pursuits:
Very good. The one in London Waterloo Station is really tight. It very effectively shows London as a Big Brother police city. Everywhere is equipped with close circuit Tv.
Fight Scenes:
Every Bourne movie has a defining jaw dropping fight sequence. This one is preceded by a foot street pursuit, roof top jumping pursuit, then the showdown inside a Tangiers apartment. The fight and the final kill is similar to the second Bourne flick. In the second one, Bourne uses a magazine, and an electrical cord to fight and kill the guy. This time, he improvises using a book as a weapon and strangles the guy using a bathroom towel. Look like Bourne has a thing for strangulation. The first Bourne flick, Bourne doesn't exactly kills the guy in his Paris apartment, the guy flings himself out the balcony, gravity kills him.
High Speed Car chase:
Again the ending of the finale car chase is very similar to the second one. The bad guy crashed his car sideway. Bourne walks out, gun drawn, but doesn't shoot the guy. The crash kills the guy.
Warning:
Much has been discussed the deliberate hand held shaky camera work. It can be nauseating for some people. But I feel fine. Sometimes it can be overdone. I remember I think I could better appreciate a fight sequence or a car chase if only the camera was put outside of the action and not jerking vigorously inside the action. Oh well.
Bottom Line:
Fine piece of entertainment. If you like the first two, you will love this one as well. It includes some torture scenes in flashback. Kids younger than 13 or so may not feel comfortable. Definitely for older kids. Movie rated PG-13. Fast paced realistic violence, not much blood though.