The Bourne Ultimatum hits the ground running -- quite literally. The film begins with an exciting foot-chase scene and doesn't let up.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:223
Fresh:208
Rotten:15
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: The Bourne Ultimatum is an intelligent, finely tuned non-stop thrill ride. Another strong performance from Matt Damon and sharp camerawork from Paul Greengrass make this the finest installment of the Bourne trilogy.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for violence and intense sequences of action.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:16-08-2007
Synopsis: The government's most wanted amnesiac super-spy returns in this thrilling third installment in the Jason Bourne franchise. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM picks up where the THE BOURNE SUPREMACY left off,... The government's most wanted amnesiac super-spy returns in this thrilling third installment in the Jason Bourne franchise. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM picks up where the THE BOURNE SUPREMACY left off, with Bourne once again racing around the globe, desperate to uncover the secrets of his identity. Having just lost his girlfriend and only companion, his search for answers is now fuelled by much more than his own self-preservation. The film kicks off with Bourne tracking down a British journalist (Paddy Considine) who he believes has valuable information about his past. He quickly discovers that the government conspiracy runs far deeper than he realized, and so begins a riveting, action-packed game of cat and mouse with the CIA. Bourne plows through the bad guys like a mini-tornado, and after some breathtaking fight sequences and several nail-biting car chases, he closes in on the truth in a climactic stand-off on the streets (and rooftops) of New York City. Joan Allen and David Strathairn are excellent as two battling CIA directors, and Julia Styles pops up for a small but important turn as Bourne's former government contact. Matt Damon continues to give Bourne the perfect mix of tough guy determination and sad-eyed desperation, and despite his physics-defying fists, he never comes off as the invincible super hero. Rather, the appeal of Bourne remains in his humanness--he feels pain, bloodies his knuckles, and mourns the loss of his lover. It's this emotional and physical vulnerability that keeps you on the edge of the seat, holding your breath for him. Well, that and the totally awesome fight scenes, of course. [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Edgar Ramirez
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Edgar Ramirez, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine, Albert Finney
Director: Paul Greengrass
Director: Paul Greengrass
Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy, George Nolfi
Producer: Frank Marshall, Paul Sandberg, Patrick Crowley
Composer: John Powell
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for The Bourne Ultimatum
A witty, relentlessly paced thriller with one of the year's classiest supporting casts.
Here, as in that other new-style spy movie Casino Royale, everything is hard and fast and brutal and, above all, straight-faced. No throwaway lines, no puns.
One more demonstration of the rule that the third episode of a movie cycle is its worst.
Damon's minimalist style is key to why the Bourne movies have become an oasis from other blockbuster action fare; freed from the bells and whistles of computer-generated effects...and they've succeeded in bringing the genre back down to earth.
Solid but not overwhelming. If another sequel does happen to be made in the future, Jason could afford to be given a little more meat and complexity.
The Bourne series makes for an unusual action franchise. All the movies are exhilarating, including the third installment, The Bourne Ultimatum, which opens tonight and leaves a bruise.
The battle is as long as it is ferocious, and in the audience I saw the movie with, nobody took a breath until it was over. Then they exhaled in a noise that exploded into a cheer.
His [Greengrass'] masterful direction of The Bourne Ultimatum makes this third installment unequivocally the summer's best 'threequel.' It also is easily the best action thriller of the year.
Greengrass somehow manages to keep the pace aerobically snappy for almost two hours, never letting it lag.
Predicated on finally delivering answers we basically already know...and cornered into bigger and better variations on the same basic action tropes, The Bourne Ultimatum turns out to be: be pretty damn exciting or get off the stage.
This movie has no pretence of being about anything but the action scenes. Fortunately, the action scenes are choice.
Unlike most summer movies, it demands that the audience keep up, and only occasionally stoops to over-explaining when things get too obtuse.
For once, I didn't feel cheated by an unresolved ending, but let's hope this is the end. Robert Ludlum wrote three Bourne novels, and this is one series that ought not to be dishonored by inferior sequels.
Paul Greengrass has to keep it moving all the time, putting Matt Damon through endless car and foot chases and taking to a dizzying extreme his signature style of handheld camera, lurching zooms, whiplash pans, and second-to-second editing.
From that first moment to the last of this peerlessly mounted action thriller, the chase never stops. Bourne's nerve never falters, or that of director Paul Greengrass, either.
Moves relentlessly, intelligently forward, as everything extraneous gets chucked over the side ... the picture thrums with an unbelievable amount of energy.
The Bourne Ultimatum is a spectacular windup toy of a thriller -- a contraption made by an artist.
Screenwriter Tony Gilroy, who's been around the block with Bourne on the first two pictures, juggles all of this to-ing and fro-ing with admirable precision.
Latest News for The Bourne Ultimatum
February 04, 2009:
Exclusive: Inside Pinewood/Shepperton - A Photo Tour
Every year, the BAFTA film awards present a trophy for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Introduced in 1978, the award recognises an organisation or a person's career... More...
December 09, 2008:
Frank Marshall Preps Fourth Bourne Movie ![]()
Thanks to a new deal with the Robert Ludlum estate, Universal has access to the late author's entire library -- and according to producer Frank Marshall, one of those books may... More...
October 17, 2008:
Next Bourne Sequel Gets a Writer ![]()
Eager to move ahead with a fourth "Bourne" film, Universal has hired George Nolfi to write the screenplay. More...
June 26, 2008:
Fourth Bourne Movie Around the Corner ![]()
IESB caught up with producers Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley on the red carpet at the Saturn Awards, and the producers shared a scoop or two -- such as the imminence of a fourth... More...
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