Rate
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
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4 stars: € € € €
The better sequel of a sequel
By Norman Mark
“The Bourne Ultimatum” is a slam-bang, high energy, won't-quit summer
bubblegum movie that may be the best tri-quel (triple-quel? three-peat?)
since the Chicago Bulls or Lance Armstrong won for the third time.
Director Paul Greengrass deserves most of the credit. Often when a film
director chops up scenes so they look like music videos overdosing on
cocaine, I get a headache and close my eyes. Greengrass approaches action
montage with an artist's eye, coming in for herky-jerky close-ups that put
the audience inside the frightened eyeballs of the chasers and the chasees.
>From the first sequence to the last, Greengrass knows how to involve the
audience, and he makes “Ultimatum” into a white-knuckle, oh-my-gosh-I
can-hardly-stand-this experience. The way Greengrass chops up and
reconstructs scenes in this film should be studied in film classes for years
to come.
Considering all three Bourne films, another movie critic (Manohla
Dargis, then writing for the LA Times) said the first Bourne was existential
(who am I?) and the second was moral (what did I do?) This, the third in
the series, is about redemption: How can I come to grips with what I was and
maybe make nice?
Which brings us to Matt Damon, who plays Bourne, the CIA killer with
erased memories. In all three Bourne movies, the CIA tracks Bourne with
complex computers and dozens of people, while he stays a step ahead of
everything thrown at him. Damon, who began as a nice, somewhat dweeby
actor, is an undeniable force in these films. He doesn't display much
emotion, but he is always intense - a screen hero for our time.
The result is a most enjoyable film, with memorable performances by Joan
Allen, playing the good spy chief with moral and operational sense, and
David Straithairn, the bad spy chief who knows how to make his minions jump
to his wishes.
Let us not forget the original music by John Powell, which adds to the
tension while never descending into trite drum thumping and bass twanging.
Is this the best three-quel of all time? Could be. It easily beats the
third “Godfather,” with its silly operatic ending.
“The Bourne Ultimatum”: a terrific, satisfying, excellent movie that is
far, far better than the usual summer releases.
Norman Mark's radio show, On the Mark, is heard at 11 am Saturdays on
KNWZ-AM, 970 & 1140. His hilarious detective spoof, “The Lure of the
Long-Legged Blond,” is available at www.longleggedblond.com
The better sequel of a sequel
By Norman Mark
“The Bourne Ultimatum” is a slam-bang, high energy, won't-quit summer
bubblegum movie that may be the best tri-quel (triple-quel? three-peat?)
since the Chicago Bulls or Lance Armstrong won for the third time.
Director Paul Greengrass deserves most of the credit. Often when a film
director chops up scenes so they look like music videos overdosing on
cocaine, I get a headache and close my eyes. Greengrass approaches action
montage with an artist's eye, coming in for herky-jerky close-ups that put
the audience inside the frightened eyeballs of the chasers and the chasees.
>From the first sequence to the last, Greengrass knows how to involve the
audience, and he makes “Ultimatum” into a white-knuckle, oh-my-gosh-I
can-hardly-stand-this experience. The way Greengrass chops up and
reconstructs scenes in this film should be studied in film classes for years
to come.
Considering all three Bourne films, another movie critic (Manohla
Dargis, then writing for the LA Times) said the first Bourne was existential
(who am I?) and the second was moral (what did I do?) This, the third in
the series, is about redemption: How can I come to grips with what I was and
maybe make nice?
Which brings us to Matt Damon, who plays Bourne, the CIA killer with
erased memories. In all three Bourne movies, the CIA tracks Bourne with
complex computers and dozens of people, while he stays a step ahead of
everything thrown at him. Damon, who began as a nice, somewhat dweeby
actor, is an undeniable force in these films. He doesn't display much
emotion, but he is always intense - a screen hero for our time.
The result is a most enjoyable film, with memorable performances by Joan
Allen, playing the good spy chief with moral and operational sense, and
David Straithairn, the bad spy chief who knows how to make his minions jump
to his wishes.
Let us not forget the original music by John Powell, which adds to the
tension while never descending into trite drum thumping and bass twanging.
Is this the best three-quel of all time? Could be. It easily beats the
third “Godfather,” with its silly operatic ending.
“The Bourne Ultimatum”: a terrific, satisfying, excellent movie that is
far, far better than the usual summer releases.
Norman Mark's radio show, On the Mark, is heard at 11 am Saturdays on
KNWZ-AM, 970 & 1140. His hilarious detective spoof, “The Lure of the
Long-Legged Blond,” is available at www.longleggedblond.com
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