The Bourne Ultimatum - Review

I've always enjoyed the Bourne franchise; the first film was fantastic, the second was equally frenetic and enjoyable....but I always felt there was something missing.

The newest, and final installment of Bourne, fills the gap and provided me with 2 of the most enjoyable hours in a cinema since I saw Lord of the Rings with a hobbit-sized friend.

The film is essentially a chase/revenge movie, and delivers on both counts...I was constantly entertained and gripped by both the plot and the acting - neither were a let down. One of my favourite actors, Paddy Considine, makes an appearance as a slightly insipid Guardian journalist who finds himself embroiled in the Treadstone/Blackbriar business. Considine plays it brilliantly, and my only wish is that his part was bigger.

I liked the idea of a Guardian journalist in a Hollywood film - though my mind did wander a little, wondering what would have happened had a Daily Mail journalist stumbled upon the sensitive information....probably nothing. I thought I did spot a Guardian-style spelling mistake in the note-pad, with Bourne spelt "Bourn"... which if intentional (or there at all) is a great touch.

The locations have to be mentioned, and the ingenius use of each setting; Waterloo Station is used brilliantly, with the tight-packed crowds adding to the suspense of a tense chase, and the advertising boards are used by assassins. Tangiers is also used, with one of the most brilliant roof-top chase scenes I've ever seen. (And I've seen lots of roof-top chase scenes.) Even the wobbly camera, as so many critics have cried, didn't put me off at all, and only added to the sense of realism throughout the film.

The fight scenes are some of the best on film, yet post-production somewhat spoiled my enjoyment - do we really need a "swoosh" noise when someone swings a punch? Do we need to hear a loud (fake) punching noise, whenever Bourne gives a baddy a kicking? In short..no.

Other than my minor gripe, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience...and when the opening notes of Moby's "Extreme Ways" played at the beginning of the end-credits, I'd almost forgotten that I'd been watching a movie. Fantasmic.