Review Of "The Bourne Ultimatum"

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2011)

"The Bourne Ultimatum" is director Paul Greengrass' final installment of the Bourne franchise. The film stars Matt Damon and starts up where the previous film ("The Bourne Supremacy") left off. To start off, "Ultimatum" had big shoes to fill - "Identity" set the proverbial bar for the franchise and "Supremacy" raised this bar. Does "Ultimatum" live up to the expectations that it was assigned? In short. . .yeah. . .yeah it does. "Ultimatum" is an expertly crafted film that takes every facet of the first two films and elevates them to an exponential degree. I honestly did not believe the claim that these movies got better with each installment. But, hey, seeing is believing I guess. Just when I thought that Matt Damon's portrayal of Bourne was multifaceted enough, he adds more complicated and compelling layers to this character in "Ultimatum" - I mean, layers upon layers of Bourne are presented throughout this film. If you thought that you had gained a strong emotional attachment to Bourne via the first two movies, well see the third because Damon just blasts expectations with this performance. This performance and the overall film as a whole, is built up by the brilliantly written screenplay by Tony Gilroy. This script is the fulcrum of the film. It's brisk dialogue and precious I-Can't-Believe-That-Just-Happened moments make the film that much more amusing as a whole. One of my favorite aspects of the entire Bourne franchise is the score. Whether it's John Powell's fast-paced music or Moby's stylish trademark song "Extreme Ways", the recurring musical elements really help to embed the film into the audience's head. Paul Greengrass' impressive direction is once again a masterstroke aspect of this film's massive appeal. I would say that, in the end, "The Bourne Ultimatum" surpassed my expectations and lifted the franchise to unfathomable heights.