For fans looking for a satisfying ending to the adventures of Jason Bourne, they will find it in The Bourne Ultimatum.
The final installment in the Bourne trilogy immerses its audience in riveting action scenes as in the previous films, but with more power than in the second, and comparable to the first. This last chapter does that from the get-go with an early foot chase.
The reencounter with Bourne (Matt Damon) picks up six weeks after The Bourne Supremacy, with the CIA assassin still trying to decipher his past in Europe. A British journalist (Paddy Considine) has gotten word of the program that creates unidentifiable killers like Bourne, but in the agent’s attempt to reach her for more information, she is killed by the CIA. The agency desperately wants to get rid of Bourne and anyone who dares help him find the truth.
After the reporter’s death, Bourne continues his expected escape and the race leads to the Waterloo tube station in London. The chase in the narrow streets of the cosmopolitan city is even more impressive since Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), director of the program that created Bourne, uses London’s surveillance-camera systems to direct the chase from New York.
The London chase culminates when Bourne attacks an offender using nothing but his hands, leaving a small bloody bathroom behind. This cold-blooded attitude shows a different Bourne than the past installments. He is not only defending himself, he is ready for answers and is fulfilling a vendetta. The talent of this fighter is even more appealing because he does not employ fancy machinery or technological devices. The killing machine he was trained to be is seen, using anything that he can find to help him in battle.
The next chapter of Bourne’s quest continues in New York, where Vosen is finally being questioned about his actions. A jaw-dropping car pursuit across the city makes the trip to the Big Apple completely worth it for the hero, who finally meets the doctor that made him a killer.
The question of how government agencies should protect citizens in a post-9/11 work is delicately presented throughout the film, and also features extended appearances by Joan Allen and Julia Stiles. Matt Damon’s performance once again proves that a spy can be physically tough, but overall mentally and emotionally able. The Ultimatum delivers satisfying closure with a story line that engages without confusing, making this action flick is for sure one of the best for the year.
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