'Someone started all of this, And I'm gonna find them'

Rating: 10/10 (13 May 2009)

If there is one word third installment of the groundbreaking Bourne trilogy loosely based on the bestselling novels of renowned author Robert Ludlum its 'explosive'. The screen literally explodes to life with the movie beginning with an intense chase sequence. What follows is an array of mind-blowing chases, fights and explosions that will literally leave the viewer stunned in his seat. But great action alone is not what makes this movie a near-masterpiece; its the underlying plot and premise, and the enigma surrounding the protagonist and his search for his mysterious past is what really captivates the viewer. Very few thriller movies seek to tell a deeper story amidst all the fast-paced violence and action and many that try often fail, but the previous two Bourne films have already revolutionized the espionage thriller genre and this film proudly continues the trend. Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne, the amnesiac rogue CIA operative on the run from the people who made him what he was-the perfect killing machine, a lethal assassin who killed without mercy until he lost his memory and tried to regain his humanity with the help of the woman he loved. But his girlfriend, Marie, was killed as 'collateral damage' during his conflict with the CIA, who believes him to be a threat and a liability who needs to be eliminated. Bourne returned to the violent world of his past in order to avenge her death, and now, he finds he is left with only one purpose-to find the person who 'started it all', who molded him into the killer known as 'Jason Bourne'. From Moscow, to Paris, London, Madrid, Tangier and finally the streets of New York City, Bourne travels around the world, barely a few steps ahead of those hunting them, while pieces of the mystery surrounding the creation of the Bourne identity slowly and subtly fall into place. The action and excitement of the film culminates, relatively peacefully, with an encounter at the end of which Bourne finally knows all the answers. From an action point of view, the viewer is really spoilt for choice. Even a relatively minor scene like a violent encounter Bourne has with a few Russian policemen in the beginning is so expertly filmed in Paul Greengrass's gritty style that you really don't feel that its only a prologue to greater things to come. A notable highlight is the elaborate sequence in the Waterloo station. And then there is a rooftop chase in Tangier (which hearkens back to the 1987 Bond movie, The Living Daylights), and a car chase (similar to the one in The Bourne Supremacy) in New York, the last major action sequence of the film. Matt Damon of course does a brilliant job as Jason Bourne. Naturally, by this point hes had a lot of experience playing the amnesiac assassin, but in this film, Damon's acting, his speech and his body language really speaks volumes for how much the character has changed since the first film. With Marie dead, the Bourne's characters last link to humanity has been stripped away from him and he is now pretty much back to being the cold-blooded killing machine he must have been before the amnesia, except that this time hes targeting the people who created him. He speaks in a cold monotone for most of the time and yet conveys an intensity that can really send a chill down your spine. And yet, there is still a spark of humanity left in the emotionless machine, as we see in a crucial scene in the middle of the film, where a visibly distressed Bourne confesses how he is haunted by the faces of the men he killed in his forgotten past. We realize that the beneath the brutality and coldness is an ordinary human being with emotions and feelings struggling to break out and this makes us sympathize with the character further and become emotionally invested in his quest for the truth. Joan Allen turns in another excellent performance as CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, Bourne's only ally in the Agency who is ethically opposed to the CIA's inhuman black ops programs and wishes to help Bourne as a means of redeeming herself and the Agency for all they've done to him.David Straithairn plays Noah Vosen, chief of the CIA black ops program codenamed 'Blackbriar', who considers it his mission to rid the world of threats to 'national security', threats which include Bourne and all those who support him. He proves to be the perfect antagonist to Landy in the bureaucratic corridors of power. Julia Stiles plays Nicky Parsons, a CIA employee and former contact of Bourne's from back during his days with the Agency. Stiles, who had a much lesser role in the previous two films, essentially plays the 'mystery woman' from Bourne's past-their previous relationship, if any, is subtly hinted at and largely left ambiguous. And finally, Albert Finney plays Dr. Albert Hirsch, the mastermind behind Blackbriar and the man who, in essence, 'created' the Bourne identity. Hirsch continues to appear throughout the film in Bourne's fragmented memories of his initial transformation into an assassin, and he is confronted by Jason in the end, revealing all the answers Bourne (and the viewer) have always wanted to know. In conclusion, I would like to comment on the last frame of the film which is essentially a homage to the first frame of The Bourne Identity-of the blackened outline of a man floating unconscious in the water. But someone who has seen the trilogy knows and appreciates how much the character has been through, how much he has changed in the years between those two frames, and we have the team at Universal and the cast and crew to thank for telling this most compelling cinematic saga of the 21st century.