The Bourne Ultimatum Blu-Ray Review
SoHood.com Reviewed by: Ishan Sharma
Movie Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Extras Rating: 5 out of 5
Overview: All he wanted was to disappear; instead, Jason Bourne is now hunted by the people who made him what he is–legendary assassin. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was. Now, in the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future. He must travel from Moscow, Paris and London to Tangier and New York City as he continues his quest to find the real Jason Bourne–all the while trying to outmaneuver the scores of cops, federal officers and Interpol agents with him in their crosshairs.
The Bourne Ultimatum is one of those rare 3rd installments in a trilogy or saga that is comparable and dare I say . . . even better than its prequels. It is larger in scope, faster paced, more tense, and filmed very (to quote director Paul Greengrass’ own descriptive term) “viscerally”, even more so than its predecessor The Bourne Supremacy.
We join Matt Damon as he reprises his role as the amnesiac assassin we know as Jason Bourne, pretty much at the end of where we left him in the Bourne Supremacy. He is injured and in mid-pursuit by the Russian police as he makes his getaway from the car crash site where he had “taken care” of the rogue FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) agent who had assassinated his girlfriend Marie.
Bourne is still unsatisfied with leaving Marie’s death at the demise of her assassin and wants to find out who is behind the nightmare which is his life. Bourne is also having disturbing and painful flashbacks of what he thinks is the beginning.
A British reporter (Paddy Considine) has also stumbled upon the hunt for Jason Bourne and has a source who is providing him with information exposing Treadstone’s covert-ops and an on-going operation known as Black Briar (which is mentioned at the end of the first film). Bourne has been following these stories and wants to find out who this source is as he feels that this mystery person will have the answers he desperately seeks. But to complicate matters the CIA is also alerted to these stories and also wants the leak “plugged” and Bourne dead, regardless. Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) is brought into the loop headed by Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) to track Bourne down and so begins the chase.
There are several elements in this film that make it as good as it is; they are subtle yet noticeable and prove very effective. As mentioned, the pace of the Bourne Ultimatum is fast leaving the audience and Jason Bourne little time to catch a break giving us the sense that the end is near and the stakes are now higher. The pace of the film accompanied by director Paul Greengrass’ signature hand-held camera work and close-proximity cut-and-chop fight and chase sequences add to the heightened tension and anticipation of the conclusion of each scene. Furthermore Bourne is older now, and references to the years he has spent running are brought to our attention which adds to our concern for Bourne being able to take on those who are now after him as they are younger and more ruthless. In addition there is very effective and seamless integration of this film with its predecessor makes it a true continuation (you will know what I mean by this once you have seen the film).
Conclusion: A very enjoyable film with a great cast and an engrossing storyline that keeps you on edge in anticipation of the conclusion. The film is very well paced, has some amazing hand-to-hand fight and chase sequences that are filmed to heighten their impact.
I would give the Bourne Ultimatum an “A” if it wasn’t for the director’s over-use of hand-held camera work, which is very noticeable and somewhat nauseating at times as it was with United 93. Although this directing style does complement the faster paced action sequences of the film, the wobbling or shaking of the camera in slower-paced scenes is irritating and may give some a headache especially at the beginning but the pace picks up very quickly and you do not notice it as the movie progresses.
The specific aspects of the Blu-ray:
The Bourne UltimatumBlu-ray Disc allows movie fans to enjoy the film in high definition format, delivering far more crisply detailed images than standard DVDs. The sounds of The Bourne Ultimatum Blu-Ray Disc is extraordinary.
The Audio and visuals of The Bourne Ultimatum: The audio sounded excellent. The visuals looked amazing on screen. Blu-Ray Extras: Whats so amazing about this film is the details that took place behind the scenes. Matt along with the entire staff really worked hard hours on making the film’s action sequences as real as possible. The deleted scenes are just the CIA talking. There’s only about two or three delete scenes with Bourne that didn’t really add anything to the storyline.
Blu-Ray Extras Listing: Man on the Move: Jason Bourne – From Berlin to Tangier, see how the film’s exotic locations influenced the filmmaking process. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), Rooftop Pursuit – Discover how state-of-the-art technology was used to film the incredible Tangier rooftop chase scene! (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), Planning the Punches – Matt Damon reveals his complex and rigorous fight training. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), Driving School – Join Matt Damon behind the wheel as he trains for the New York car chase scene.(Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), New York Chase – An insider’s view on how the film’s heart-stopping chase sequences were filmed. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD), Deleted Scenes (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD).
