Good Bourne Hunting...

Rating: 9/10 (16 March 2020)

And here comes the final opus of the Damon, decade-defining, "Bourne" trilogy, whose key word this time is 'ultimatum'. "Identity" and "Supremacy" didn't give specific indications but the big picture, that was enough; plus, they sounded good. 'Ultimatum' sounds great. It's like our hero Jason Bourne (not-known-anymore-as David Webb) means business. And the film doesn't belie the premise.
Speaking of titles, for the scholars, the French ones can be translated into "Memory in the Skin", "Death in the Skin" and finally "Vengeance in the Skin" and if they don't sound like literal translations, they capture the films spirit and with the last one having that confident resonance preparing us to something great, even better.
Now, is it great? Yes. Better? Maybe in the sense that the hero has grown on us and so have the supporting players like Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) reducing Franka Potente's Marie to a memory relic, one that is given its respectable closure with the news of her death told to her brother (Daniel Brühl), a scene that mirrors the ending of "Supremacy", making the emotional bridge between the films, and reminding that Bourne has personal reasons not to give up. The emotionality isn't overdone but it's right there.
Some might prefer "Ultimatum" because it shows that it's not just about missions being accomplished and even the hired agents aren't all cold assassins. But haven't the other movies suggested that already? I think the real merit of the 'Ultimatum' is to be as faithful in tone as it is in special effects to its predecessors and that it comes with satisfying answers without trying to come with a twist. It's played straight, ties the three plots together and ends in an effortlessly powerful way. It deserves its lion share of popularity because it doesn't try to be different.
And it's the right approach because the whole trilogy toys with chronology, taking us back and forth from Bourne's initial training (flashes coming in the form of an ominous man's voice responsible for his brainwashing) to clips from the previous films, which makes the feeling of continuity and narrative fluidity necessary. We need to stay in the same universe. One of the best surprises comes with it opening before the final "Supremacy" conversation between Bourne and Landy and that the discussion actually turns out to be a pivotal moment in "Ultimatum". And that's the only possible twist such a film can offer and it was a delight.
In my previous review, I expected the 'David Webb' reveal to be a cliffhanger, it's merely an information, it was the date of birth I should have kept in mind. I knew there was something to gather from that scene but I was misled. And that's the merit of that last opus, it knows where it takes you and it doesn't matter if we're one step behind Bourne or his pursuers, we're followers caught into the ride, which we enjoy with thrills of anticipation. Whether in the crowded Waterloo station of London, New York perpendicular streets or the labyrinthine rooftops of Tangier kasbah in my homeland Morocco, the pace is fast, the stunts exaggerated but never unbelievable and the shootings (whatever the meaning) keep us on the edge.
Even when we suspect Bourne or Nicky might survive at the end, there's always a little something to spice up the predictable situation: a few lines or a priceless surprise where Bourne outsmarts his pursuers and proves them that "little brother is watching them". The enjoyment is enhanced by these little patterns, these connections between the three films that reassemble the pieces of the puzzles so finely we don't have time to discuss the looser points: Bourne's insistence to change the girl's appearance but not his? The way the black ops can dispose of a British citizen with impunity? The CIA's incompetence or their insistence to keep secrets on what everyone knows. But seriously, is it worse than these moments where the bad guys could kill Bond with one bullet through the head and instead just stalled? Maybe the Bourne formula works well because unlike Bond, Bourne can't take any chance and must move quick and fast.
As I said before, a man of action, action governed by a twisted emotional mindset: Bourne tried to find his past in the first film with the present offering a few hints, in the second, he tried to escape from the past but it resurrected as the Treadstone operators trying to silence him, so the hunter became the hunter. In the third film, while being chased by other CIA corrupt officials (this time, it's Scott Glenn as the Big Bad and David Straitham his Black Knight) Bourne's still the hunter, it's his past he's hunting and knows his mind won't know no rest until he knows the truth... a truth I won't reveal but there's a hint that it might come from two men from a picture: one played by Colin Stinton, and one Albert Finney. Guess who that'll be.
The film's finale is remarkable in the way it doesn't go for a big spectacular scene. Paul Greengrass knows the action structures the plot enough to make drama the right culmination and even in its low-key approach, we have a great confrontation with agent Paz played by Edgar Ramirez, which echoes the memorable scene with Clive Owen. And naturally we have a badass conclusion with one smile and Moby's "Extreme Ways" playing while we can finally catch our breath and savor the victory. No need for a conversation or a scene that says "goodbye", the film is beyond these clichés, it knows its strengths well enough and additional blah-blah isn't one of them.
And may I add that the film will hold a special heart as the one that will finally earn me my first IMDb Top 250 badge for the year 2008. Should be a matter of a few seconds after I click on 'Submit'...