Paul Greengrass grants Jason Bourne with the finest treatment yet

Rating: 10/10 (31 July 2016)

Paul Greengrass concludes the trilogy with the most portrayal of our action hero Jason Bourne yet. After being introduced to the titular character in 2002, audiences everywhere experienced a major game changer for Matt Damon as he demonstrated a high-octane performance. The first installment introduced the CIA agent with an intense character study of a man with a loss memory and trying to recover his past that made him the gun- totting assassin he is. The sequel continued the story with more hyperkinetic action and thrills. Paul Greengrass however, ignited the real deal in this third installment. Concluding with some explosive action sequences while balancing a polished narrative heft, this film achieves the rare accolade of improving on both it's first and second predecessor -- something -- it is difficult to point out any aspect this doesn't improve on. So this film follows Jason Bourne who's once again stripped away from his peaceful life, to search for CIA official Neal Daniels (played by Colin Stinton) who happens to be in possession of valuable information that holds secrets to his past. During his mission, Bourne must also dodge vicious assassins appointed by Operation Treadstone director Noah Visen (played by David Straithairn) to hunt him down despite the orders of CIA Deputy director Pamela Landy (played by Joan Allen) who suggest them leave him be. This all comes down to a mission that defines the very person Jason Bourne.
Paul Greengrass continues his immersive style congruent to what we brought in 'Bourne Supremacy', only much better. From the energetic camera-work, the compelling action sequences, an intriguing storyline, and his overall covered direction all come together to conclude the film trilogy with a bang. The film opens with a tense action scene with Jasom Bourne on a train, and following this is a suspenseful airport scene where he comes face- to-face with British journalist Simin Ross (played by Paddy Considine) in an operation that quickly sets the story in motion. The sequence is both tension-filled and shot very beautifully but this is only the beginning. The story continues through an extraordinary journey of visceral character developments, realistic hand-to-hand combat (shot with slightly better camera-work than in the previous film), and a plot with interesting nuances about the characters including Julia Kate who's character is now granted a more prominent role than in the previous entries. By the end, it all comes down to Jason Bourne discovering the true meaning of his past and how he became the ruthless CIA agent we know him for. Is there anything the story leaves unexplored? Maybe, but hardly anything crucial is left abandoned here. And the result is something truly fascinating.
The Bourne Ultimatim is a spectacular conclusion to the Bourne trilogy, and this is all thanks to both the compelling performance by lead Matt Damon as well as Paul Greengrass's stunning directorial efforts. This is easily one of the best action films of it's decade, it not only places Greengrass in the front ranks of action filmmakers but also leaves a landmark on the action flick genre.