One of the best films of the summer so far

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 2007)

The Bourne Ultimatum is an intense thriller. It is action packed, well acted, and moves at a brisk pace that never slows down for very long. It is definitely one of the best movies of the summer so far.
Matt Damon returns to his role as Jason Bourne. He is still running from the government and even more dangerous assassins. All of which are out to kill him. He is also still searching for information on his past for which he only remembers bits and pieces in hazy flashbacks. This has been the point of all three movies, and the conclusion to this fine trilogy left me very satisfied, especially the final scenes of which I will say no more.
Matt Damon has made the role of Jason Bourne his own. I couldn't see anybody else in the role. Joan Allen also returns as Pamela Landy, the same person who had been searching for Bourne through the first two movies. There are some twists on her character this time around, but I will not spoil it for anybody who wants to see the movie. Julia Stiles also returns as Nicky Parsons. The acting was very good all around, including the smaller roles. David Strathaim in particular has a good part as the slimy CIA agent Noah Vosen who wants Bourne dead.
Like I said above, this movie is all out action with great fight scenes and car chases. The director Paul Greengrass keeps the pace moving. It rarely slows down, and when it does it is only for a short period before the action starts up again.
His use of steady cam for many scenes was incredible, and I know there are some people who will say the use of the steady cam was headache inducing, but to me I think it worked perfectly. It added to the frenetic pace and made the movie seem more realistic. The fight scenes and the car chases where the steady cam was used the most worked splendidly. The final car chase scene is one of the best put to celluloid.
The Bourne Ultimatum is not quite perfect, and I think it's because there was no witty dialog and it lacked a sense of humor. Most action films usually have these things, but then again none of the Bourne films have ever had anything that resembled that. It also fumbled a little near the end. However, putting these tiny flaws to the side, I would still say that The Bourne Ultimatum is one of the best films of the summer, and you can't go wrong there.