Bourne: El ultimátum

"The Bourne Ultimatum" begins recklessly mid-chase and in pulse-pounding fashion explodes from there as Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, absolutely superb) tracks down the masterminds behind the CIA black-ops that turned him into the perfect killer in a final attempt to learn his true identity. A devastatingly icy David Strathairn as the "man behind the curtain" is added to the returning cast of regulars including Joan Allen (excellent) and Julia Stiles (non-existent).

Like the second entry in the series, I wished Paul Greengrass' shaky hand-held camera would go static at least for the few minutes of downtime. However, that being said, it's a perfect way to capture the tense, claustrophobic feel of the intimate hand-to-hand-combat scenes and works equally well in the chase scenes which are mostly on foot and across rooftops with the occasional big car pile-up. Part of the fun of the Bourne series is the constant globe-hopping and manipulation of technology and communications that seem to defy the laws of physics and current capabilities. The Bourne films seem to exist in some sort of gritty hyper-reality that is full of technological-based magic. It makes no sense that everyone seems to be just in the right place at the right time, but I'll be damned if it isn't a blast to watch them get there.

With the absence of the emotive and involving Franka Potente, the writers attempt to create some emotional connection between Damon and Stiles, but she is so blank-faced an actress it never really leads to anything. Still, this can be forgiven, for unlike the "Identity" and the "Supremacy", this "Ultimatum" reveals all and we finally learn the truth about Bourne's past. It's an entertaining and satisfying conclusion to the series, and if they have any good sense, and Damon gets his wish, this will be the perfect end to it.

In order to fully appreciate 'The Bourne Ultimatum', one must have to have seen 'The Bourne Identity' and 'The Bourne Supremacy'. Like it's prequel's, it is slick, action packed, suspenseful and has an engaging screenplay. I particularly loved the chase scenes shot in Tangier. Director Greengrass just keeps the right pace without making it boring or too fast to follow. A fine ending to a trilogy, I preferred it over the overrated 'Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King' and the abysmal 'X-Men: The Last Stand'. 'The Bourne Ultimatum' has done justice to the first two films. Cinematography deserves special mention, whether it's the shaky camera or the zoom-lens, it certainly adds to the 'fun' of the ride supported by brilliant background score. The dialogues and characters are very well written. This is especially a plus because character development seems to be lacking in action films of today. Damon again looks the part and his acting is fantastic as he completely owns the role. Supporting cast that boasts of talented names like Joan Allen, Paddy Considine, Albert Finney and David Straitharn all stand out. A brilliant conclusion, it makes the whole trilogy stand out. Filmmakers (especially that guy who made 'X-Men: The Last stand') should learn how to make a trilogy interesting and intelligent. 'The Bourne Ultimatum' is an intelligent, slick, well-paced action film that respects the trilogy.

Finally getting round to seeing the original Bourne film trilogy, after hearing nothing but good things, there hasn't been any regret watching them. Wasn't sure initially as to whether they'd be my cup of tea or not, hence why it took so long to see them, but that was not the case.

'The Bourne Identity' was a very pleasant surprise, giving a fairly well-worn genre a much needed freshness. It had its imperfections, but was a very solid and even very good film with much to recommend and introduced a cast-against-type Matt Damon in one of his best roles. 'The Bourne Supremacy' was an example of a sequel that was every bit as good as its predecessor, maybe lacking its freshness but also made a few improvements along the way. The original Bourne trilogy ends with 'The Bourne Ultimatum', which has been regarded often as the best of the three, cannot disagree.

Some of the hand-held shaky cam is used a little too excessively (epileptics be warned!) and the ending could have been a little less frenetic and confused and had more careful tying things together and explanation.

Visually, on the other hand, a vast majority of the time 'The Bourne Ultimatum' like its predecessors looks slick and stylish with even more breath-taking locations. There were many instances when the hand-held shaky cam did intensify the tense claustrophobia of the atmosphere and intensity to very good effect, never making things incomprehensible.

Like 'The Bourne Supremacy', the music score is even more dynamic, atmosphere enhancing and more layered this time round, while Paul Greengrass' drama-documentary style and background to his directing is used to full advantage. 'The Bourne Ultimatum' has the sharpest, most intelligent and subtle script of the three films, in a way that is just dazzling.

The story never lets go of its grip and never strains credibility or reality. It is a tense adrenaline rush throughout, with the best mix of exciting action, the best of it is absolutely thrilling, and meaty story-telling, with lots of emotion and characterisation meat, that develops Bourne the best of all three films. Paul Greengrass' directing style and his experience in drama-documentary is once again used to full advantage.

Matt Damon has really made the character of Bourne his own, at the time of 'The Bourne Identity' it was very much a cast-against-type role but now it is one of his best. Julia Stiles and particularly Joan Allen are marvellous, as is a suitably malevolent David Strathairn, and while the supporting cast are a little underused they all do uniformly sterling work (one would be very hard pressed to get a bad performance out of Albert Finney for example).

In conclusion, what a conclusion to the Bourne trilogy. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Here we have one of those rare franchises that constantly gets better and better. The great thing about it is that Director Paul Greengrass is back and better than ever. He brings more realism and technique in this sequel than he did in the last film.

Matt Damon has gotten older and into the character more perfectly to where he seems to be living the role and realistically the character. I can't really picture anyone else in the role at this point. David Starthairn is just magnificent and Julia Stiles was surprisingly quite excellent.

The chases sequences are some of the best, and the like it or hate the shaky cinematography – it does exactly what is necessary and right on point. The intent is to be agitated as you watch the film, which is exactly the point. The intent is to feel and experience what Jason Bourne is experiencing and feeling. The cinematography technique works brilliantly.

I have always felt that one of the possible issues for people, as it was for me, was that my expectations were extremely high. This is by far the best of the trilogy, and one great thriller. I loved the fact that the film was not over the top and is so grounded like a documentary.

Having not seen the previous two in the trilogy of Bourne movies, I was a little reluctant to watch The Bourne Ultimatum.

However it was a very thrilling experience and I didn't have the problem of not understanding what was happening due to not seeing the first two films. Each part of the story was easy to understand and I fell in love with The Bourne Ultimatum before it had reached the interval! I don't think I have ever watched such an exquisitely made, and gripping film, especially an action film. Since I usually shy away from action and thriller type movies, this was such great news to me. Ultimatum is one of the most enthralling films, it grabs your attention from the first second till the last minute before the credits roll.

Matt Damon was simply fantastic as his role as Jason Bourne. I've heard a lot about his great performances in the Bourne 1+2, and now, this fabulous actor has one more to add to his list. I look forward to seeing more of his movies in the future.

The stunts were handled with style - each one was done brilliantly and I was just shocked by the impressiveness of this movie. Well done.