The Bourne Ultimatum DVD: Review By Paolo Sardinas

Watching "The Bourne Ultimatum" unfold is almost like waking up on Christmas Day. The suspense, anxiousness, and finally the big surprise. You know it's coming, don't know what, but you know something is coming. Through the entire film, you constantly find yourself marveling at this excellent piece of film making.

In 2007, three years after "Supremacy" and a full five after "Identity", Director Paul Greengrass returned(Supremacy) and offered us something more. Something which almost takes us back to those childhood memories of waking up on Christmas Day and getting those presents. Well if Christmas is the allegory I'm using to describe "Ultimatum", then Greengrass is Santa and Damon is Rudolph. Shot mostly using hand held cameras, "Ultimatum" returns with that constant feeling of suspense and danger around every corner. Times two.

Those fun little handheld video camera shots allow us to follow our favorite amnesiac CIA operative as he ducts in and out of subways, trainstations, stores, markets, leaping form building to another, and finally climaxing inside of a supposed CIA secret headquarters in Manhattan. Scarier than Langley. Despite the lack of more beautiful locations than it's predecessor, "Ultimatum" still features some believable, and extraordinary shots of Tangier and Madrid. Not to mention New York. Most of these location shots are from the bird's eye view, homing in on it's target from way up in the sky.

The story follows Bourne as he is being chased down by practically everyone, and tries to uncover his past from his brainwashed mind. The whole concept of one man running from forces you can't seen seems almost like it was ripped directly from the screenplay of "The Conversation". Even though "Ultimatum" adds it's own creative twists here and there. Throught the whole film we get introduced to some new characters, all looking for the same thing. Bourne. One of which is the always superb David Strathairn playing Noah Vosen, CIA guy. One of the film's most ingenious and classic scenes is when Bourne himself calls up Vosen and questions him about being in his office. A nice little nudge to "The Conversation" and an iconic scene for all thrillers to follow.

Matt Damon delivers another high flying performance as our favorite amnesiac assassin. Playing him as rather a man on the run looking for questions, rather than a brainwashed ex-assassin who's looking for redemption for things he doesn't even remember doing. Damon really shined on his acting capabilities just like his previous effort "Supremacy".

Director Paul Greengrass offers us some fun with this flick. Providing more thrills than "Supremacy"(a great film, but it focused more on the character rather than both character and action). His tendency to shoot even the smallest of action scenes with those quick cut shots behind a person running or from a distance are always entertaining and add some creative flare to his work.

"Ultimatum" is everything you hope and want in a action thriller. But one thing it isn't, what it almost strives to not be is repetitive. The film is always packed with suspense, action, and great performances through and through. Over the last 5 years, Jason Bourne evolved just as much as Damon has evolved as an actor. Something all the Bourne movie succeded in was being original, despite a rocky start. In the beginning it seemed inevitable that Bourne would end up being just like master spy "Bond, James Bond", but luckily, in the end, it was able to be "Bourne, Jason Bourne. Grade: A