Ultimatum Makes for a Good Action-Thriller

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2007)

I enjoyed The Bourne Identity thoroughly, but I was somewhat let down by its sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. Now, Supremacy director Paul Greengrass brings us the final film of the trilogy - The Bourne Ultimatum.
Identity was cool because it introduced us to Jason Bourne. There were some great action sequences, notably an apartment fight and a car chase, and it played out like a good espionage/spy/international thriller flick.
The second to me seemed like more of the same. Also, Doug Liman was replaced by Paul Greengrass. I have the utmost respect for Greengrass, but I didn't like all the shakiness utilized in the cinematography that he's kind of known for. Shaky camera is distracting, and why do you want a distraction from a well choreographed fight scene or car chase or whatever? And it didn't seem like all that much had been accomplished - the movie essentially ended where it started.
Then we come to Ultimatum. Greengrass is back for this one, and there's still some of that shaky camera, but it's less distracting than in Supremacy; I think this can be attributed to the fact that there's less of it and that there's more flair in the action scenes. Speaking of action scenes, Ultimatum has one of the best fights I've ever seen. Think of the bathroom brawl at the start of Casino Royale extended for several minutes. It's pretty cool. There's also a decent car chase, ending in a great crash, but it's not as exciting now since these have become typical occurrences in the Bourne movies.
Unlike Supremacy, however, Ultimatum does advance the storyline of the Bourne universe. In fact, the biggest development in the whole trilogy probably happens at the end of this one.
Overall, it was a pretty good summer flick, much more intelligent than the Hollywood fare we've enjoyed thus far, this summer. A little sophistication is nice after the likes of Shrek 3 (ugh), Transformers, and Rise of the Silver Surfer. Still, I think the action could have been a little more streamlined and the whole movie in general a little more enthralling. But I won't complain. It's definitely one of the best movies I've seen this summer, probably even the past couple of summers. Bourne fans won't be disappointed.
I give it a 7.7/10.