The Bourne Ultimatum
With a flawless blend of story, action, and filming -- "The Bourne Ultimatum" is an arguably perfect film.
Review by Dack

The final film in a trilogy often has the fate of not properly concluding a great series of films. Sometimes however, the final movie in a trilogy will be the perfect conclusion, and go down as the best film in the series. "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a perfect example of this, being the perfect ending to a near perfect trilogy.

The trilogy began with "The Bourne Identity", the first of the three films based on the Robert Ludlam's books of the same name. It was highly praised for being a smart spy thriller with top notch action scenes, and a emotional romantic side story. The franchise was then handed to one of the best modern day directors, Paul Greengrass. In 2004, Greengrass directed "The Bourne Supremacy" -- which unlike it's predecessor, did not follow the book very close. "Supremacy" was less action packed, and more dialog heavy -- solving mysteries of "Identity" while opening up new questions of its own. Although "Supremacy" is not quite as marvelous as "Identity", it did justice to the series, and set up the trilogy for it's perfect conclusion.

In "The Bourne Ultimatum" Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is back and is determined to solve the mystery of who he is, and to terminate who did it to him. After finding a possible lead that can give him some answers, Bourne restarts his search for the truth. Still looking for Bourne, the CIA expands the case to a new bureau who will stop at nothing to find Bourne. Bourne now has to find the people and places he is led to, while avoiding being caught or killed by the CIA.

Not very often is a movie released that is basically perfect. With a flawless blend of story, action, and filming -- "The Bourne Ultimatum" is this kind of film. "Ultimatum" has constant feeling of intensity, aided by being beautifully shot in Greengrass's signature "handheld shaky-cam" style . This is the best Bourne story yet -- giving answers to questions from previous films, while having compelling new side stories of it's own. In a slew of brainless action films, "Ultimatum" is a nice refreshment -- a movie containing a large amount of top notch action, while being smart and intriguing at the same time. The action scenes in "Ultimatum" are the series best, having some amazing stunts and explosions, while being intense and very exciting -- drawing you in and refusing to let you go.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" is a perfect end to a spectacular trilogy, giving closure while being an arguably perfect film on it's own account. While other action films are taking a step back, "Ultimatum" takes a leap, and lands in the some of the best films of all time.

Final Score: 5/5

Second Opinion
By Sirus

“The Bourne Ultimatum” is the final movie in a trilogy of action movies centered on a single man named Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and his fight to regain his memory. In the first movie, we watch as Bourne is thrust into the ocean where he is picked up by the crew of a fishing boat. When Bourne is finally brought back to life he has no memory of who he is or what he was doing. For the first and second movies, Bourne searches for every clue possible to find out who he is and how he got where he was. Now all alone in his search, he reads a story in the paper that tries to chronicle his exploits and explain his past and present. To find out more information than can be gained from the article, he searches out the journalist who wrote it. From then on, he follows one clue after another until the final conclusion when everything is revealed. The movie builds to a climax perfectly while stringing the audience along and getting them as excited about every clue as Bourne is. At the end of a trilogy, it’s absolutely wonderful to have all the questions answered in a way that makes perfect sense.

Matt Damon does a fantastic job in “The Bourne Ultimatum” just as he did in the previous two and portrays a totally likable character. The music in the movie is fantastic as well. John Powell created some absolutely wonderful tunes that use a mixture of violin and percussion at the correct moments to complement the action. The previous two movies are highly praised and I would even argue overrated because they only really succeed in one aspect of filmmaking. The first movie was heavy on story but light on action while the second movie was heavy on action but light on story. “The Bourne Ultimatum” manages to keep the quality storytelling from the first movie and add in action that far surpasses the second to create something rarely seen; a final film in a trilogy that surpasses its predecessors. The biggest thing that sets the action in “The Bourne Ultimatum” above the second movie is the setting of the chases. The chases in both Morocco and New York City are far more exciting than similar chases in the second movie. If you have followed the Bourne trilogy and enjoyed the first two movies, you owe it to yourself to finish the trilogy with its fantastic ending. Anyone who loves a good action movie and has seen everything that’s out should go see “The Bourne Ultimatum” ASAP.

Final Score: 4.5/5

Overall Score (Rounded up): 5/5