THIS SUMMER JASON BOURNE COMES HOME.
As Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) goes after the people who “created” him and killed his girlfriend, more CIA operatives are realizing that he may not be the enemy.
The third chapter of the Bourne saga is an exhilarating showdown between a visibly tired but highly motivated, lethal Bourne and his enemies. Taut, brutal and convincing every step of the way, this is a very well made action thriller with intense fights and a crazy car chase in New York, among many other treats. Damon is excellent.
Minor quibbles: The story is very similar to the two predecessors, and the shaky camera has limited appeal.
2007-U.S. 115 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Paul Greengrass. Screenplay: Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi. Editing: Christopher Rouse. Cast: Matt Damon (Jason Bourne), Julia Stiles (Nicky Parsons), David Strathairn (Noah Vosen), Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Édgar Ramírez, Albert Finney, Daniel Brühl.
Trivia: Co-produced by Frank Marshall; co-executive produced by Doug Liman. Followed by Jason Bourne (2016).
Oscars: Best Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Effects Editing. BAFTA: Best Editing, Sound.
Last word: “I think that my films – I’m not doing across the board here – but it’s certainly true of Bourne Ultimatum – you’re trying to bring together two forces that essentially are going in opposite directions. And those two forces are structure, order, planning, story, all the things you can lay down in advance logistically, narratively whatever it is. Then you’ve got the force of freedom, improvisation, the moment, the happy accident, the unstructured bit of filmmaking. I think what I try to do all the time is bring those two into the closed possible proximity and where the two meet that’s where a Bourne movie should be. It means that they’re fresh, you know. A Bourne movie is not an airline meal. It’s made on the run, you know.” (Greengrass, Collider)
