8/13/07

The Bourne Ultimatum

There is something so satisfying about watching really smart people try to outwit really smart people! This "Bourne" series really hits the nail right on the head!

Director Paul Greenglass ("United 93" and "The Bourne Supremacy") once again subjects us to the herky-jerky camera work that typifies his films. You feel you are right in the middle of the action, desperately searching over the heads of the crowds trying to spot the villains, the hero, the assassin, whomever! When things are a little quieter, you don't trust it for even a minute, knowing full well that Matt Damon ("The Brothers Grimm" and "Stuck on You" [notice I didn't mention the Ocean's series...smile...]) will react with cat-like speed and grace when danger once again rears its ugly head.

Jason Bourne still doesn't know who he REALLY was before the water- boarding and brainwashing that took place three years earlier under the auspices of the CIA. He remembers just enough to know he was created, not just trained.

Once again, we have Joan Allen ("The Upside of Anger" and "The Notebook") as a CIA Director who still looks like she "needs some rest." And Julia Stiles ("Mona Lisa Smile" and "10 Things I Hate About You") is pursued by an assassin through crowded streets in Morocco. Both Joan Allen's and Julia Stiles' characters have come to admire Jason Bourne's struggle to reclaim his identity and they also have become repelled by the CIA's willingness to kill him to keep things from getting messy.

There were some touches I personally enjoyed. If any of you have ever been to a demolition derby (I haven't, but I have watched "Grandview, USA!"), you know in order to damage the other guy's car and keep yours running, you have to use the BACK of your car, not the front, where a damaged radiator, fan or other vital parts might put you out of commission. Well, our friend Mr. Bourne already knows that and one of the chase scenes turns into a demolition derby.

When Stiles' character is on the run with Damon's, they do NOT get sidetracked by their libidos, instead they continue with the job at hand. I appreciated THAT, too! And Joan Allen's character is just as smart as the rest of them. David Strathairn ("River Wild" and "Good Night, and Good Luck") is lean, mean and sleek, as the cold-blooded professional who intends to clean house at the CIA, once and for all!