The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writers (WGA):

Tony Gilroy (screenplay) and
Scott Z. Burns (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

This Summer Jason Bourne Comes Home

Plot:

Bourne dodges new, superior assassins as he searches for his unknown past while a government agent tries to track him down.

Plot Keywords:

Jason Bourne | Madrid | Moscow | London | Bomb

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Jason Bourne
Julia Stiles	...	Nicky Parsons
David Strathairn	...	Noah Vosen
Scott Glenn	...	Ezra Kramer
Paddy Considine	...	Simon Ross
Édgar Ramírez	...	Paz
Albert Finney	...	Dr. Albert Hirsch
Joan Allen	...	Pam Landy
Tom Gallop	...	Tom Cronin
Corey Johnson	...	Wills
Daniel Brühl	...	Martin Kreutz
Joey Ansah	...	Desh
Colin Stinton	...	Neal Daniels
Dan Fredenburgh	...	Jimmy
Lucy Liemann	...	Lucy

Also Known As:

Das Bourne Ultimatum (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | French | Arabic | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | UK:12A | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:12A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43741) | Finland:K-13 | New Zealand:M | Brazil:14 | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13 | Norway:15 | Germany:12 | Czech Republic:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:U | Philippines:PG-13 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Sweden:11 | Italy:T | Australia:M | India:UA

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Paul Greengrass states in the R2 DVD commentary that the relationship between Nicky and Bourne, prior to his amnesia was deliberately scripted and filmed as "ambiguous but significant".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Moscow militia chasing scene, Bourne breaks into a pharmacy. Russian pharmacies are guarded at night by armed guard. It's a law provision.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Russian dispatch officer: Suspect from tunnel auto chase, heading east from Kievsky Train Station.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Evolution of Nicky (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Extreme Ways (Bourne's Ultimatum)

Edge of the seat stuff

Jason Bourne sits in a dusty room in with blood on his hands, trying to make sense of what he's just done. Meanwhile, a CIA chief in NYC outlines the agency's response to what's just happened on screen. An American flag stands proudly on the centre of his desk in the foreground of the shot, but as he speaks, it slips out of focus as his plan veers into morally dubious territory, as if it doesn't want to be associated with the course of action the government man decides is necessary in the interests of national security.

This shot effectively captures the mood of the film. As well as portraying Bourne's quest to find out how he became Jason Bourne, Ultimatum is also an examination of the human costs of the measures taken to protect us in the interests of stability and security.

It is also probably the best film you'll see in the cinema this year.

It's just so intense. Bourne says to Simon Ross (Considine) "This isn't some newspaper story, this is real" and in the audience you almost believe him. The camera shakes, but remains steady enough for you to see everything and feel like you're there with Bourne as he tries to elude his pursuers, and the performances are so good that these guys seem as though they are the characters they're portraying, instead of just being actors performing well-written roles. The action scenes are so brutally fast-paced and well choreographed that they seem instinctive instead of planned to the minutest movement; the stunt-work is nothing short of amazing.

The pacing is just incredible. It keeps driving forward towards its conclusion, but not so fast that it leaves you struggling to piece together the plot; the script delivers the information you need as quickly and clearly as possible before moving on to the next tense action set-piece. While they're often simple (the Waterloo sequence is essentially just a man on a phone being watched by a man on a phone) they're charged with such dramatic intensity that you can't take your eyes off them. The film is just so focused on powering forwards that you can't help being swept along by it.

With its intense action set-pieces, brilliantly paced storyline, and intelligent examination of the decisions made in the name of national security, the Bourne series is one that accurately captures the ambiguities of our age. Ultimatum is its peak.