Should Have Finished It With 'Supremacy'

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2008)

Let me preface by saying I liked the first Bourne film ("The Bourne Identity") and loved the second one ("The Bourne Supremacy"). I was anxious to see the third - this one - but delayed my viewing because I had heard this film was very anti-American. However, I finally got around to seeing it, deciding to make up my own mind.
Frankly, I didn't find the politics much more Liberal than the other two, so that didn't bother me.....but overall, it just wasn't that good a movie. Looking at some of the other reviews here, I guess I am not alone. I agree with all those who said watching this film can give you a headache. The director here upped the amount of scenes with the hand-held camera and shook it horizontally and vertically during all the action scenes. It ridiculous; literally hard on the eyes....and I normally can put up it, but there were a few times I had to look away for a few seconds to give my eyes a rest, and that took away from the enjoyment of the film.
The other two things that disappointed me was there was really nothing new regarding the story except for the ending. The rest of it was the same things I had seen in the first two films. Worse, the credibility in the action scenes was zero. As usual, Hollywood takes things to excess. Now, Bourne isn't just a great fighter and survivor: he's Superman and Rambo rolled into one! He eludes not one but several entire city police forces after him, both on the run manually or in vehicles (car or motorbike). That part is a real insult to anyone's intelligence. It makes the film look dumb.
Two other leading characters also were stupid and annoying. We get the usual PC woman-is-better-than man angle with Joan Allen's character more honest, compassion and smart than the cliché corrupt male government worker, played by the moronic-voiced David Strathairn.
With Liberal icons like Straithairn, Allen, Matt Damon and Julia Stiles I expected more propaganda, although it was there more than you think, just more subtly. For instance, the American flag was always prominently shown in a negative way in the film and the TV networks getting a couple of plugs each were CNN and MSNBC. There was no Fox News shown. Gosh, what a shock! Overall, they should have added 20 minutes to the last film and had Bourne find his true identity there.....thereby not wasting everyone's time with this headache-producer.