The Movie Nut

"The Bourne Ultimatum"
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia
Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott
Glenn, Albert Finney, Joan
Allen
MPAA rating: PG13 (for in
tense action violence)
Running time: 112 minutes
Best suited for: Bourne again
fans
Least suited for: newbies
(Don't even try to discover Ja
son Bourne here.)

It isn't that Paul Greengrass' excitement-choked conclusion to the "Bourne" trilogy lacks plot, it's just that one can become so exhaustively engrossed in the action that one forgets a plot remotely matters. And, as the third act of a cinematic saga of Shakespearean proportions (amnesia, dead friends and lovers, bad business practices, abounding betrayal, mistrust and greed),

"The Bourne Ultimatum" has a great deal to disgorge in relatively little time.

In the film's first 20 minutes, we are flung back and forth between continents and adversaries as both cat and mouse warm up for their final encounter. The question is: Does "Bourne" still have what it takes to keep us hooked?

The third time's rarely the charm in big budget sequeldependent blockbusters. I need only remind most people of "Terminator," "Alien" and "Batman." Fortunately, "The Bourne Ultimatum's" flaws are minor in comparison. Still, this final act is less a standalone chapter than a hectic, jittery epilogue, Jason Bourne's last-gasp race toward both freedom and redemption. It is, for the most part, a 112-minute chase sequence.

I'm not giving much away (if you've seen the trailers or TV spots) to reveal that Jason tells his wily superiors, "I remember everything." Not an acknowledgment that thrills an entire branch (seemingly) of the U.S. government who wants the man dead.

For anyone yet unaware- and if you are, really, skip this one- Jason Bourne (an unsmiling but likable Matt Damon) is an exassassin for Uncle Sam who's been fished from the ocean (in "The Bourne Identity") bullet-riddled, near death and suffering from complete amnesia.

Who is he? Why does he have flashes of very bad things happening? Worse, who keeps trying to kill him? Based on Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel (back when spies were all the rage and when sanctioned killing for one's country was tres chic), the first chapter of Bourne's sojourn, directed by Doug Liman, proved both complicated and mesmerizing.

The second installment, 2004's "The Bourne Supremacy," was certainly as good as its predecessor (no easy feat in Hollywood) and, guided by director Paul Greengrass' penchant for keeping his cameras in constant motion, gave us one of cinema's best car chases ever. It wasn't even a fast car chase, but, man, you felt the intensity.

And Greengrass' ability to depict even granny's cane-assisted shuffle up the walkway as some dizzying joyride kept audiences upright at rapt attention. "Supremacy" upped the emotional ante as well, as Jason Bourne began piecing together the puzzle of his several neardeath experiences.

Now, Bourne decides to exact revenge. (His ex-CIA colleagues have dredged up his identity once too often, trying to eliminate him to cover their own nefarious trail.) What happens in the final chapter is Jason Bourne attempting to carry out retribution- to get these people off his back once and for all. But as good as Bourne is (which is very), it's not a simple thing, as people unknown to him are still trying to end his life. Every passing pedestrian is a potential threat.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" is far more frenzied eye-candy than it is plot-oriented. And some of the fight scenes are so ridiculously outlandish as to be outside the realm of believability . . . and yet, still really, really cool to watch. Which isn't to say that we're tired of Bourne's travels; just don't expect too much deviation from the theme.

Also, Jason Bourne has become little more than a sullen autotron these days, locked into self-preservation mode. I suspect the man knows at least 50 ways to kill an adversary with, say, a cotton swab, which leaves him little time for casual cocktail chatter. At least he has one friend (Joan Allen, playing the equally grim-faced Pamela Landy, one of Bourne's superiors). And while I wouldn't call the chemistry between them sizzling, there is a nice resonance between the two.

Does Jason remember? And remember what? Ah, well, that's what the film's all about, so I shan't say more. However, in this day and age, when "underground" films like "Zeitgeist: The Movie" and "Loose Change" not only question but outright incriminate this country's moral selfrighteousness, one begins to wonder just how plausible Jason Bourne's plight might be. In that regard, "The Bourne Ultimatum" is not only fascinating, but somehow feels far more harrowing as well.

Finally, I believe the "Bourne" trilogy (soon to be a three-DVD collector's set) is not only riveting entertainment from first scene to last, but one of the best actionoriented cloak-and-dagger entities that's emerged from Hollywood.