Ban Paul Greengrass before he ruins anymore Bourne Movies

Rating: 3/10 (12 August 2007)

When the most memorable thing you remember coming out of a movie is that you were annoyed by the camera work, you know there is a problem. Proper shaky camera work can convey a sense of chaos and action (see the Gladiator for its proper use), but here, it just distracts and confuses. During the action scenes, it obscures what is going on (especially if you're sitting relatively close to the screen). During a quiet moment, it completely takes you out of the movie. Try this experiment. Sit down across from anyone at a cafe or restaurant. Notice how much jitter there is around their face and head...right none! Now watch Matt Damon have a conversation with Julia Stiles...that's right, I didn't say Jason Bourne, because the camera is so shaky, that you think you're watching Matt Damon's home movies filmed on an antique camera by his uncle with Parkinson's disease.
Now that the big one is out of the way, let's critique the movie. The camera-work aside, this is an enjoyable movie featuring everyone's favorite amnesiac superspy. It delivers on over the top action with a modicum of cerebral superspy stuff. It has a few nods to previous movies, prominently highlighting the last line of the second movie. The hand to hand fight scenes are phenomenal. I really enjoy the Arnis based combat (obscured by the camera-work as it is). I just wish they would teach the actors real gun handling. (Watch Collateral for some good handling.)
The Bourne Identity sounded the death knell for James Bond, by raising the bar to unreachable heights. Unfortunately, the Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum both failed to reach that bar. Instead the producers decided that they would simply try to one up other movies. Transporter 1 and 2? We can be crazier with driving. Casino Royale? we got that covered. Unfortunately, Bourne is at his best when doing his cerebral, superspy shtick, and there just wasn't enough of it. The best scene in the movie happens in the first twenty minutes. The rest of the movie, while good, just doesn't live up to its promise.
I hope they bring Bourne out for a fourth movie, but do us all a favor, and fire Greengrass before he destroys the franchise.
Slight spoiler below:
There's also two continuity/sequencing issues, where you're not sure whether they're in London or New York. And how does "the asset" magically get from one continent to another? Why not use another asset? Where they running out of asset actors?