*** Official THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Brett_M]

POST OF THE YEAR.

The camera is an eye after all, taking in the action and giving you something to feel. Its motion rachets up the tension. It ellicits a response one way or the other.

As far as Nikki's character in the series, I like her. Julia Stiles has a presence. She comes off as smart and articulate -- exactly as a logistics staffer would be in that situation. Not everyone employed by the CIA is mid-forties and haggerd.

 

[DavidJ]

Or it distracts from the actors performance and what is being said...it can be overused and it can be too heavy handed. I have no problem with a moving camera and it was used masterfully in the last film and in United 93. I didn't think it was egregious in this film, but I did think it was used too much. To me, it would have been more effective if it had been used a bit more sparingly.

 

[Citizen87645]

I haven't seen enough of her other work to really have an opinion either way - I'm really quite indifferent to her as an actress. I think the only other film I've seen her in is "O," but it was Mekhi Phifer who ruined that movie for me. For me, she just never seemed to fit in the Bourne films, though I would say she probably fit the most in this latest one, but that may just be because I've learned to accept her after two other films.

Okay...maybe I'm not TOTALLY indifferent.

 

[Ray H]

I saw this yesterday. As with the previous installments, it's a very well made thriller with some great action scenes. But as with Supremacy, I just left with the unshakable feeling that barely anything happened throughout the two hours.

 

[Dave Hahn]

I think she's a fine actress, and she's not hard on the eyes either.

 

[Ray H]

I think Julia Stiles is alright. Not amazing in these films, but I don't think they call for her to be. I miss Franka Potente in these films though. I was pissed when they killed her off in the last one. The filmmakers putting Stiles in positions similar to Potente's in the first (the cafe, dying & trimming her hair) made me miss her even more.

 

[Josh.C]

Looks like Julia got bit by a couple of mosquito's in that pic Dave. Great source there "Nude-Celebs.CC"

 

[Dave Hahn]

It is amazing what you can find with a simple Google Image search!

 

[cmitcham]

well i bet someone here can answer my question.

i didn't realize during the ultimatum that we were re-hashing the time line. when the real name and birthdate conversation took place, i immediately recognized it, but i assumed that their repeating the identical conversation (with a different birthdate) was how borne knew that the date was a message.

so now that i understand the time line thing, and this was the first jason had ever heard of his real name or birthday, i don't see how borne knew the bday was an address. just because he is super-everything??

thanks for any insight.

 

[ErichH]

Why Not? He's been in quick think mode through all 3 films.
Not to mention, Landy knows he's recovering memory on everything - including the source of his Identity

Now, the crew pulling off Landy after the phone call might be a little hard to imagine. Why didn't they snatch her?

I didn't mind any of it - Great Flic! The BD is sold here.

 

[Robert Crawford]

There was a signal from Bourne earlier in this latest film which suggested to Landy that he needed to meet her so when the phone call occurred, they quickly setup a place to meet through this simple coded conversation.

 

[Kachi Khatri]

One thing I realized throughout this trilogy is that the agency used all male “assets”. My thought process here is if the agency realized after many failed attempts to bring him down, then why didn’t they think out-of-the-box and dispatch a female asset (not necessarily in the same manner), but in a subtle way as to lure Bourne. If Bourne got attached to Marie, then that should signal a soft spot for a killer assassin.

This idea struck me while remembering Maggie Q - the beautiful and deadly but under-used character from Die Hard 4. If she could whiplash Willis then the thrill factor would have compounded if pared against Damon. (No SUV required )

 

[Ray H]

Meh. Bourne doesn't seem to be interested in women. Next to Marie, they're nothing. And he seems terribly focused on his objective. I doubt a woman can really distract him.

 

[Chris]

I've got to say, the Marie angle is part of why I loved the film series so much. Instetad of the normal bed-hopping gun-shooting hero, Bourne is in part motivated by a perceived wrong against someone he did care about, and I can buy that.

I felt that for as off-the-wall as some moments are, there is such an element of truth in the way Bourne's interpersonal life works that you want to root for him.

I've seen this a few times, and damn I love this film

 

[Nelson Au]

Saw this yesterday and also enjoyed it a lot.

I agree that for 2 hours, not a lot did seemed to happen, though Bourne was able to identify his objective and reach it. So it was a straight forward plot. I didn't mind that, though I liked the earlier films somewhat convoluted plot. I also agree with an earlier poster, this is a smart movie. The viewer's brain is engaged most of the time.

I liked Nikki, she was as established in the first and second film, a student in Paris. I liked that she was cool and very smart in the first one. And she seemed to know a lot about him in the second to help Lindy.

I also saw the Marie angle when she colored her hair and that was why Bourne was sort of lurking and staring at her. I'm glad Greengrass didn't hit you over the head with it and I'm also glad they took it no further. The line about him not remembering and suggesting a past relationship was interesting. Maybe they were brother and sister. Hmmm, sister....

The fight sequence in Tangier(?) with the asset in that bathroom was very good, it reminded me very much of the fight between Bond and Grant in From Russia With Love, but this one notched it up a bit.

And I have been thinking of how influential the early Bond films were. Editor of the early Bond films, Peter Hunt introduced us to the use of quick cuts to tell a more exciting fight sequence. Today, it is taken to a far more extreme with the addition of the shaky camera. I don't like it when combined with such tight shots. I know the idea sometimes is to create more intensity, but it is so closed up, you do lose the overall picture sometimes. The car chase in The Rock comes to mind.

This film wasn't as bad with the shaky camera, though the scene when it bobbed up and down and around in the cafe looking over Bourne or Nikki's shoulder was a bit much.

I am glad Lindy lived through it too. For a while, I thought she was in jeopardy. Scott Glenn looked old! And I liked the consistant use of music and Moby at the end.

I am interested in reading the books now. After reading the Ian Fleming Bond novels, I have a new appreciation of the Bond character and understand of how some don't always like the film adaptations of the later films.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Perhaps, Glenn looked old because he's 66 years old. I hate to see how we will look at that age.

 

[KurtEP]

I just caught this movie today and thoroughly enjoyed it. One thing that really stood out to me was, as has been mentioned here before, the fight choreography, especially the fight with Desh. Great "in close" stuff. It also struck me in this movie that they showed him having a far more difficult time winning his fights, especially the Desh fight, which he was on the verge of losing before he got help. Pretty realistic, given that he'd be all beaten up after the events of the past two movies, and the other guys would probably be his equals and fresh.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Good fights 'n' stuff. But, I like a little more meat to the plot and the dialog... what dialog? Did anybody have to really do much line memorization?

And what's with the super-human Bourne and villains he always runs across? Absolutely hysterical lapses in logic... except that it was not intended to be. Shot at point-blank range, stabbed, smashed, gouged, bombed, etc. and they have a few scratches afterwards. Even the "bad guy" with the backpack is spitting up blood after being pinned in a totalled car, and a few scenes later is completely fine.

And they never, ever followed up on the headaches and dependence on pills plot device from the first movie. Could they have at least come up with a new "super weapon" excuse like they were messing around with the brain's chemistry so they are impervious to pain as to make better killers, etc.? Something unique? Hmmm...?

I for one would much rather watch Ronin or The Marathon Man or some other thriller than these "shakey cam" stinkers. Thank god, it's over.

And the only reason I saw this last one was because I was bored on a Saturday. I should have known better when I saw the interview with Matt Damon on The Daily Show. Even he was not totally convincing that this was a great movie. His attitude was more like: at least it didn't completely suck.

 

[Richard--W]

I'm surprised to read all the complaints on the internet about shaky camera and fast cutting because that's what I thought today's audiences wanted. There were times when I thought Greengrass could have held onto a shot longer than he did. But I absolutely love his work on this film.

I think The Bourne Ultimatum sets the highest standard for intelligent action and suspense. I especially like the minimalism of it.

The sequence in Madrid is one of the great action and suspense setpieces in the history of cinema. It juggles several balls in the air simultaneously and never drops one for an instant. Every story thread is sustained effortlessly. Notice how Nicky breaks apart her cellphone so that the information can't be retrieved, and then drops the pieces on the sidewalk as she flees, hoping that Bourne will follow the trail of broken pieces and save her. In the near future, people are going to be writing books about this sequence. In fact I guarantee you that right now, directors and editors are studying this sequence with smiles on their faces.

When it slows down for a moment or two, I even like the silences, which evoke emotion instead of explaining in dialog.

"It was always difficult for me with you" says Nicky Parsons. That's her longest line in the film, and it's all she needs to say to charge up the scenes with a subtext of unrequited possibilities. The actress is allowed to emote, and she makes the most of her silent close-ups. We understand the lengths Bourne goes to save her from Desh. That's a 10-minute fight that would impress Peter Hunt; if you think you've seen the editing approach before, look at the fight in the hotel room in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Greengrass has stretched Hunt's innovative approach into an entire film.

Nicky has to run like him now, and Bourne's parting words "It gets easier" are poignant because all the things she wants to hear can't be said under the circumstances. This script understands how drama works, and we may take it as a direct response to the bathos and vapidness of the recent Bond.
If this were a Bond film, Pamela Landy and Nicky Parsons would be making long stupid politically correct speeches about male ego and chauvinism instead of feeling and playing the dramatic business. The Bourne Ultimatum concentrates on what's important. There's no fat here, and no crap either.

If I have the time tonight I'm going to see it again for the third time. I want to study the sequence in Madrid on the big screen. Yes the shots are short and the cutting is fast, but there really aren't that many setups. The fast cutting makes it look like there's more setups than there really is.

 

[varybarry]

Great review Richard. I've never been that enthralled with the Madrid scene, but you make me want to watch it again. I'll be sure to take note of the camera techniques now.