The Bourne Ultimatum - Is the Trilogy Over?

Well it's a week late but I finally saw Bourne, most hardcore movie watchers have probably already watched this movie; and some have probably downloaded it further hurting the hand that I hope will one day feed me. It was a good end to the series, I've heard a lot of people say it "fit" very well. I'll admit that I was not excited when I first heard about the Bourne Identity and it's star Matt Damon. In fact I had waited till it came out on DVD to check it out. I was impressed, and further more was excited when Supremacy came out. Ultimatum on the other hand was a tuff sell for me. The trailer offered nothing new, the story definitely offered nothing new, the cast almost the same except for one bad ass CIA agent that pretty much saved the show. David Strathairn plays Noah Vosen, a CIA man who runs the black ops in the CIA. Pretty much he can do whatever he wants. His new job is to of course take down Bourne and pin the Ops that created him on Landey, played once again by Joan Allen, or kill Bourne... well do they?

The story really is nothing new, the acting is actually quite nice, and the symbolism that connects the series is a nice touch that is missing from typical action/suspense movies these days. Damon actually gets to give a performance in this film, which was missing in the last film. No I was not overwhelming touched by his emotions, no I didn't really feel sorry for his character anymore, I really just liked him out smarting the camera systems in trains stations, talking sassy over the phone and overall just messing with the CIA. Damon has already said, like all actors, that he won't be back for a fourth. Which frankly is really dumb on his part since the fourth one has the potential to do something new in the world of Bourne and actually start adding depth to his character... that and it's a blockbuster money making franchise, so really it's just dumb, but whatever. Julia Stiles is also back and I know your wondering, "How and why, did they bring her back again!", easy answer is that she's in love with Bourne and was too close to the Op from the beginning so the big boys couldn't ever let her stray far. Then there's David S.'s character, who really is just evil as fuck and of course only cares about "protecting America". When did protecting America start meaning "Kill people that have money outside of America"?

The style from the first two films is maintained in this film as well. It just goes to show that shakey cam can work when done properly. I've always liked the dark grainy look that the films displayed, it works really well in the spy film genre. The main symbolism in Bourne has always been water. The series started in water and it ends in water. In the first film, Bourne is pulled out of the water and doesn't remember who he is. This being a symbol of rebirth as water often is. In the second flick it's used as a symbol of death as Bourne's girlfriend dies in water. In the latest flick water is used in two ways, but ultimately for the same reason... rebirth. As Bourne is being brainwashed, he is dunked over and over into water until finally he is Jason Bourne. Then at the end, yes I'm ruining the ending for you since really it doesn't even matter in the scheme of things, he falls into water and then swims away, giving his character another fresh start and symbolizes the death of Jason Bourne super killing machine. Something this series did great was not making them seem like a trilogy, each film stands alone on it's own and doesn't require you to have seen the previous films to enjoy any of the others. It's just a nice treat if you have. The rest of Hollywood should take notes from Bourne, since all the sequels seem like after thoughts and so were forced to stand alone. Just green light the second movie and see if it swims before green lighting the third, otherwise you get another Matrix and Pirates franchise.

Since I can't condone anyone seeing Rush Hour 3, due to the fact that Jackie Chan is so much better than buddy comedy's and really has soiled his career and joins the list of "people who use to be great until they made a bunch of crappy decisions on the bases of money", which includes Stan Lee... for now! So I would recommend this movie if you want something decent to watch, but hey if you want to watch crap by all means go for it!


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