Once again, renegade spy Jason Bourne is on the move in the high-budget action thriller The Bourne Ultimatum.
This is the third installment of the Bourne movie franchise. Actor Matt Damon plays former C.I.A. assassin Jason Bourne, who vows to track down the people who turned him into a killing machine.
They are powerful C.I.A. operatives, who brainwashed Jason Bourne into becoming a killer. Bourne does not remember who he is but he is getting closer to the truth. He goes to New York, where the C.I.A. black operations headquarters are located, to uncover his identity and expose those who hurt him.
David Strathairn plays Noah Vosen, chief of C.I.A. black operations and one of the people behind Bourne's ordeal.
Vosen considers Bourne a threat because "he is an insider. Bourne knows the names, the dates, the ghost sites and every dirty little secret C.I.A back ops have."
So, Vosen is determined to kill Bourne before it is too late.
Before Bourne gets to New York, assassins pursue him relentlessly from London to Tangier. Actor Matt Damon says this globetrotting chase takes place all over Europe and North Africa. "In the Bourne film we always try to go to the real locations and as an audience member it lets you see a part of the world as it really is."
This high-powered, action-packed movie takes the viewer on a frenzy of car chases, fistfights, explosions and rooftop chases. Actor Matt Damon says it is all real. He himself does his own stunts. "When you see Bourne running across the roof," he notes, "there is no secret gadget, there is not a secret trick, it's just captured perfectly by a really smart director who has an unbelievable visual style."
This is the second Jason Bourne movie for filmmaker Paul Greengrass, whose credits include movies such as Bloody Sunday and United 93. Greengrass, famous for his jittery camera shots and his tense, claustrophobic scenes, says this type of shooting requires tremendous accuracy. "It's reportage, it's quite fast, it's impressionistic. It requires a high level of dexterity and concentration. Because you got to get the exact piece," he adds.
The Bourne Ultimatum offers visceral entertainment and superb acting. Besides Damon as Bourne and Strathairn as Vosen, Julia Stiles plays an expanded role in this film as the reserved and intense Nicky Parsons. Damon calls her his leading lady.
This is an intelligent summer flick and a big box office hit. During its opening weekend in the United States it raked in $70 million.
