Review: Intense action returns in third ‘Bourne’ flick

Directed by: Paul Greengrass

Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Albert Finney and Joan Allen

Rated: PG-13

Many times, when a film is so relentless that it refuses to give the viewer any breathing room, it’s rather stifling and uncomfortable.

While “The Bourne Ultimatum” barely lets up for a second until just after an hour into its 111-minute running time, director Paul Greengrass, photography director Oliver Wood and editor Christopher Rouse have fashioned the film with such skill that the unrelenting pace becomes an integral part of the overall experience. The “shaky cam” method and sometimes obtuse angles, as well as the whip-smart editing, are kinetic without being distractingly frenetic.

Greengrass also directed the second “Bourne” film, “The Bourne Supremacy,” but his crowning achievement to date has been “United 93,” the gripping drama about the hijacked plane on 9/11 that failed its intended mission (thanks to heroic passenger intervention) and crashed. Greengrass used a cast of mostly unknowns as well as some of the actual people who were in air traffic control towers that fateful day, and the result was a powerful experience that had the feel of a documentary.

With “The Bourne Ultimatum,” Greengrass is certainly not dealing with an unknown cast or unfamiliar characters. Matt Damon has been on board since the first film, “The Bourne Identity,” and Joan Allen – one of the finest, if somewhat unsung, actresses working today – as upper management CIA agent Pamela Landy, was introduced in the second installment. The always-great David Strathairn makes his Bourne debut as CIA deputy director Noah Vosen.

It’s probably no coincidence that agent Jason Bourne shares initials with another great silver-screen spy. Whereas the James Bond franchise slipped into stagnation and edged toward self-parody long ago, the new J.B. is an agent for the 21st century’s “war on terror” audience.

While other action films (think the latest “Die Hard” movie) rely heavily on computer-generated special effects, Greengrass and company rev up the action – and the viewer’s pulse – using very little CGI.

The series opened with a bullet-ridden Bourne being fished out of the ocean off the coast of France. We knew as little about the man as he knew about himself. He was then, and remains, suffering from amnesia. As he pieced things together in the first two films, we learned he’s a highly trained assassin who failed a crucial mission for the CIA. Because of that, he’s a target.

Over the course of the earlier films, he tried, without luck, to find out who he really is and what really happened to him.

In this third installment, it’s time for the CIA to pay the piper – unless they can kill him first.

Bourne tries to get information from a British journalist who obviously has connections inside the CIA. After an edge-of-your-seat cat-and-mouse game, Bourne’s attempts end rather abruptly on a crowded street.

But Jason continues driving the bigwigs at the agency crazy. Every time they think they have him, he turns things around. It’s all the more frustrating because the CIA is the organization that made Bourne so good at what he does.

Scott Glenn, as CIA director Ezra Kramer, and deputy director Vosen issue orders to the huge team devoted to tracking down Bourne: Kill him on sight.

But agent Landy disagrees. Besides feeling some sort of pity for Bourne because of what the agency has done to him, she feels he still has much to offer.

The clues keep coming together, and both Bourne and the agency are pointed to a special-op director who was, without question, the British journalist’s inside man. His aide-de-camp has a long history with Bourne, although he really doesn’t remember her. Julia Stiles has played agent Nicky Parsons in all three of the Bourne films and is another fortuitous ally for the addled agent Bourne.

Midway through the film, the agency pinpoints Bourne and Parsons’ location and sends another top-notch assassin after them. If the earlier scenes with Bourne and the reporter kept you on the edge of your seat, the rooftop chase that ends in a lengthy hand-to-hand combat sequence will have you jumping out of it. The choreography, camerawork and editing come together for a hall-of-fame action sequence.

Bourne finally finds out his real name (interesting side note for southwest Missouri audiences: he was born in Nixa), and he gets an idea of what has happened to him. Albert Finney makes a brief appearance in these final scenes.

At the finale, it looks as if the series has come to its end. But a news report, a cutaway to Parsons’ wry smile and an underwater shot in New York City’s East River can only mean one thing: A fourth episode in the Bourne series. If Greengrass and company are involved, it will surely be worth watching.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.