Bourne again.

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2007)

Firmly blowing my theory that there's never been a good trilogy as the third in any franchise is never as good as its predecessors (e.g. Godfather, Back to the Future, Matrix, Star Wars etc (and before you start I'm not including the likes of The Lord of the Rings as I see that as a whole)) this Greengrass directed final instalment in the Bourne series is a top notch thriller. Starting off exactly where the second one ends Matt Damon reprise his role as the amnesia suffering super spy and it is business as usual as he runs from the C.I.A. always trying to find the answer to who he is and why he's a expertly trained killing machine. As with Greengrass's other work Bourne Supremacy and United 93 the camera work is stunning, it's claustrophobic and always feels very real which in a film like this just adds to the tension and urgency. Although not a huge fan of Damon you cant take it away from him that he was born (excuse the pun) to play this part and in doing so has opened up many a pub based conversation on which JB would win in a fight, Jack Bauer, James Bond or Jason Bourne and on the evidence of the rooftop chase and subsequent close quarter hand to hand fight about halfway through this movie I'd put my money on Bourne. As superbly directed as it is I feel I have to extend a nod to the editor because half of the films appeal is in the way it is cut together, so as much as this is Greengrass's film it equally belongs to Christopher Rouse and together they are a brilliant team. Set all over the world from Russia to Britain and wrapping up with a spectacular car chase through New York it is edge of your seat stuff as you hurtle closer to Bourne's actual identity and the dramatic conclusion to what started with the first film. There's also a neat little trick that brings them full circle which you'll get when you see it. At just under two hours this is a blockbuster that actually delivers and will undoubtedly be the hit of the summer and rightly so. All I need to know now is where do I sign up to be a spy?