‘Bourne’ saves the best for last

  • By Robert Horton, Herald Movie Critic
  • Thursday, August 2, 2007 10:17pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

If you take a step back from “The Bourne Ultimatum,” you might notice that this movie has virtually no plot, contains nothing that we didn’t already know, and really is just one big long chase scene.

But that’s the thing about “The Bourne Ultimatum”: You can’t take a step back from this movie. It grabs you hard in its opening moments and doesn’t let go until the satisfying fade-out.

This is part three of a spy trilogy nominally based on books by Robert Ludlum. In “The Bourne Identity,” we met a CIA spy called Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), an amnesiac troubled by what he’d done in the past – a past he couldn’t remember.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“The Bourne Supremacy” followed, with director Doug Liman replaced by Paul Greengrass. Greengrass is back for this installment, which uses his trademark jittery handheld camera throughout (he did the excellent “United 93”).

Like the previous movies, “Ultimatum” has a cynical, unsentimental view of the spy business. In this film, there’s no enemy except the CIA operatives who set Bourne up to be a killing machine in the first place. He seeks an answer to the mystery of his identity, and justice for a character killed in “The Bourne Supremacy.”

Two characters from the previous films, CIA agents played by Joan Allen and Julia Stiles, return for significant roles in this one; this is the rare sequel that actually expands the meaning of its supporting characters.

The globe-hopping is back, too, with Bourne bopping from Madrid to London to Tangier and elsewhere in his search. He’s being tracked by a lethal CIA honcho (David Strathairn) for whom the phrase “terminate with extreme prejudice” is insufficiently vague.

The film is arranged around a handful of elaborate, incredibly detailed chase sequences. The first takes Bourne and an English journalist (Paddy Considine) through London’s Waterloo Station, and it’s so taut (and logical) you figure the film can’t possibly top itself.

But it does, repeatedly. At times “Ultimatum” threatens to become a technical exercise: How can Greengrass stage a foot chase through the crowded streets of Tangier and make it feel fresh? But he keeps making it feel fresh, and you keep leaning forward in your seat.

This nervous style, full of jump cuts and shaky motion, is something I generally don’t like. So I’m even more impressed that Greengrass pulls it off here.

Through it all, Matt Damon maintains his brutally hard composure, which asks no sympathy from the audience. It’s tricky to bottle everything up the way Damon does with this cleaned-out character, but the movie would collapse without his spooky self-control. And since there’s nowhere else for Bourne to go, this “Ultimatum” should indeed be final.

Matt Damon stars in “The Bourne Ultimatum.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Coming events in Snohomish County

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Audi SQ8 Wows In Motion Or At Rest. Photo provided by Audi America MediaCenter.
2025 Audi SQ8 Is A Luxury, Hot Rod, SUV

500 Horsepower and 4.0-Second, 0-To-60 MPH Speed

The Mukilteo Boulevard Homer on Monday, May 12, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Homer Hedge’: A Simpsons meme takes root in Everett — D’oh!

Homer has been lurking in the bushes on West Mukilteo Boulevard since 2023. Stop by for a selfie.

Sarah and Cole Rinehardt, owners of In The Shadow Brewing, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In The Shadow Brewing: From backyard brews to downtown cheers

Everything seems to have fallen into place at the new taproom location in downtown Arlington

Bar manager Faith Britton pours a beer for a customer at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burgers, brews and blues: Madison Avenue Pub has it all

Enjoy half-price burgers on Tuesday, prime rib specials and live music at the Everett mainstay.

Ellis Johnson, 16, left, and brother Garrett Johnson, 13, take a breather after trying to find enough water to skim board on without sinking into the sand during opening day of Jetty Island on Friday, July 5, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Epic ways to spice up your summer

Your ultimate guide to adventure, fun and reader-approved favorites!

Ian Terry / The Herald

Rose Freeman (center) and Anastasia Allison play atop Sauk Mountain near Concrete on Thursday, Oct. 5. The pair play violin and piano together at sunrise across the Cascades under the name, The Musical Mountaineers.

Photo taken on 10052017
Adopt A Stream Foundation hosts summer concert on June 14

The concert is part of the nonprofit’s effort to raise $1.5 million for a new Sustainable Ecosystem Lab.

People walk during low tide at Picnic Point Park on Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Beach cleanup planned for Picnic Point in Edmonds

Snohomish Marine Resources Committee and Washington State University Beach Watchers host volunteer event at Picnic Point.

Edie Carroll trims plants at Baker's Acres Nursery during Sorticulture on Friday, June 6, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sorticulture, Everett’s garden festival, is in full swing

The festival will go through Sunday evening and has over 120 local and regional vendors.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.