The Bourne Ultimatum
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Matt Damon, Joan Allen
Director: Paul Greengrass, Peter MacDonald
WorkNameSort: Bourne Ultimatum, The
Our Rating: 4.00
The Bourne Ultimatum isn’t the best in the trilogy of international espionage thrillers about assassin Jason Bourne’s search for his identity, but it is the best action movie of the year and, more over, the most fun this summer of lackluster blockbusters has offered. If you don’t remember, in The Bourne Supremacy our amnesiac hero had taken out the man responsible for turning him into a mindless killing machine and found himself finally on the road to his true identity. Well, this time around he has to contend with the new black-ops organization (Blackbriar) that’s replaced the one that created him (Treadstone), in order to achieve his ultimate revelation via a wonderful exchange with Albert Finney as his Dr. Frankenstein. The globe-trotting plot involves just about every character, living and dead, that’s appeared in the series and it gets convoluted, but the propulsive strength of Paul Greengrass’ direction and the intensity of the non-stop chases usher you past any questions into a new reason to cheer. When Bourne finally gets his answers, you’ll feel nothing but relief for him â?¦ and disappointment this might actually be the end of his journey.
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2007.