A Fantastic and Rewarding Film

Rating: 10/10 (24 August 2007)

Let me address that there are some spoilers in this review.
I have been a huge fan of the Bourne series since the first film was released in 2002. I've watched all the Bourne movies now multiple times (including Bourne Ultimatum) and am delighted with how the series played out. There is speculation as to whether they could continue on with the series, but I believe this serves as an excellent conclusion to the trilogy as well as a rewarding one for die-hard fans.
Honestly, I was surprised at the amount of people who gave a horrible review on this movie (and Bourne Supremacy) on the premise that the "shaky camera" ruined it. Yes, as many people have said, the camera work in that way added to the realism of the film, thrusting the audience into the action, but the real reason here is symbolic to the story and Bourne as a character.
Notice how the camera work gets rougher as the movies progress? We first see it significantly in Supremacy, and even more-so in Ultimatum. This is symbolic to Bourne as a character. With each venture (or movie) he goes through, Bourne is continually hurt. He gets physically tested and abused, emotionally shot, and more confused. The camera mirrors what he is feeling, attempting to project that into the audience and herein making us feel his confusion. Did some of you get headaches from that camera work? I guarantee he was feeling worse. Even when not in an action scene, a common "symptom" of the Treadstone agents is migraines, as The Professor (Clive Owen's character, the sniper) briefly brings this up to Bourne in the first film.
I do understand that this camera work may not have been to everyone's liking, but while it may have annoyed you, please try to remember that there is a reason behind every aspect of a good film; this was done for a reason.
The action is fantastic. What makes it fantastic is that it's not mindless. It's calculated and brutal, and what adds to that edgy feeling much of the audience will get is the fact that these are not bumbling, dumb henchmen going after Bourne. They are just as smart as he is, and just as brutal if given the opportunity, adding to the danger. The scene that left the most lasting impression for me was the rooftop chase and final showdown between Bourne and Desh, a CIA operative. This rivals the showdown between he and Kirill (the hit-man that chased him in Moscow in Supremacy). It's just as brutal in its own way, and serves as a reminder to the audience that Bourne is still human. He's not a machine, not invincible. Seriously, for a couple seconds there I thought Nicky was a goner. It would have been reminiscent of Bourne's failure to protect Marie when she was killed.
I love a film that has me guessing like that. When a core character's (Nicky in this case) fate isn't completely safe to you as an audience member, you're watching good material, getting to witness a good story.
Matt Damon as always gave an excellent performance. Some people have said that his acting was a bit stale, zombified, dull. This aura he gave off was intentional. Please, you don't think that an actor of Damon's caliber just decided to "give up" and kind of mumble his lines in the last movie due to laziness, do you? I'll say it again, Bourne at this point in his story is broken. He's hurt physically and mentally. He's tired and with each dangerous brush with his pursuers, he gets a bit more desperate. Bourne watched his lover and only friend on the face of the earth, Marie, get shot in the head (Bourne Supremacy, 2nd movie), and only had time to mourn this when he could get a chance to catch his breath. I would be demoralized beyond words if I had to go through something like that in my own life.
And on top of all this, let's not forget, when he finally DID find out who he was, he wasn't happy at all about being a professional killer. He didn't think it was right and felt rather terrible about this realization. I mean on top of the everything mentioned in the previous paragraph, the man hates himself. The events in the first two movies sculpted Bourne into what he is in the third installment. No folks, Matt Damon was exactly who he wanted to be.
I applaud his and everyone else's acting in this film. It's believable, and keeps you interested in what's going on. This isn't a mindless cat and mouse film. The Bourne Ultimatum is the conclusion(?) to the story of a desperate, disoriented man seeking only answers, but instead finding gritty danger, ruthless adversaries and even more questions every step of the way.
It's hard for me to give a film 10 out of 10 stars but when I have to TRY to find something wrong with a movie, that's a good sign.