Review - The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. And it's been a bit since we last checked in on Jason Bourne. So, let's take a look at the third film in the Bourne series: The Bourne Ultimatum. Directed, once again, by Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Ultimatum stars Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Corey Johnson, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Colin Stinton, Daniel Brühl, Joan Allen, and Albert Finney. 

          So, the movie picks up where The Bourne Supremacy left off, with Jason Bourne evading Russian authorities in Moscow. Some time later, Jason meets with Martin Kreutz, brother of Marie, to explain what happened to her, and what he plans to do next. Back in Washington DC, CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy reveals a taped confession of Ward Abbott to CIA Director Ezra Kramer, who is still weary in regards to Jason himself. 

        It's here where we meet a British journalist named Simon Ross, who writes for The Guardian. Ross, apparently, has found a contact who has information on Bourne, Treadstone, and Blackbriar. Yeah, remember at the end of The Bourne Identity when Abbott revealed the proposal for a program called Blackbriar? Well, said program plays a major role in this movie, and is headed up by CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen in New York. Vosen orders to have Ross' phones tapped. Luckily, Jason learns about Ross as well, and guides him to avoid either being captured or killed by Blackbriar. And, this leads to the iconic sequence set in Waterloo Station, where Jason works with Ross to help him avoid detection, and even takes down a few Blackbriar thugs. And, easily my favorite moment is when Vosen is watching the CCTV of Jason beating up the Blackbriar thugs and remarks "Jesus Christ. That's Jason Bourne." Unfortunately, Jason's efforts fail, and Blackbriar agent Paz kills Ross from a sniping position. 

        Luckily, Jason is able to figure out the identity of Ross' contact: CIA Station Chief Neal Daniels, who is based out of Madrid. Around the same time, Blackbriar, who has begun working with Landy, who has agreed to help Vosen because of her past pursuit of Jason. Anyway, Jason arrives at Daniels' place in Madrid, only to find a few Blackbriar agents there, and he quickly takes them down. Arriving shortly after is Nicky Parsons, who was reassigned to work with Daniels after the events in Berlin. Nicky tells Jason that Daniels is in Tangiers, and she helps him evade CIA agents arriving soon, and the two head to Tangiers to meet Daniels. Unfortunately, it's in Tangiers that things go south pretty badly, as Vosen tasks another Blackbriar asset, Desh, with killing Daniels, Nicky, and Jason. Jason saves Nicky, but Daniels ultimately dies. Jason sends Nicky into hiding, and makes his way to New York, where Blackbriar is situated. 

        In New York, Jason calls Landy, in the scene we saw at the ending of The Bourne Supremacy, where Landy tells Jason that his real name is David Webb, and mentions the numbers "4-15-71," and Jason remarks "Get some rest, Pam. You look tired." Everyone realizes that Jason is in New York, and Vosen takes a unit to go after him. Jason, meanwhile, slips into Vosen's office, and calls him, using a recording device to get his voice print. During the phonecall, Vosen offers to arrange a meet, and he falsely claims to be in his office, and when he asks Jason why he doubt that claim, Jason remarks "If you were in your office right now, we'd be having this conversation face to face." Jason uses the voice print to access Vosen's safe, which holds top secret files about Blackbriar's operations. And, after figuring out the numbers Landy gave Jason, Vosen realizes where Jason is going: 415 East 71st Street, where Jason confronts Dr. Albert Hirsch, who ran the behavior modification program for Treadstone. 

         During his confrontation, Hirsch reveals some truths to Jason. As David Webb, Jason volunteered to join Treadstone as a means to save American lives, despite knowing what it would cost. And, after enduring weeks and weeks of behavioral modification, he finally made the choice to commit to the program, giving up his old life as David Webb, effectively becoming Jason Bourne. Landy, meanwhile, takes the Blackbriar files she got from Jason and faxes them to the press. But, Paz shows back up, leading to a chase between Paz and Jason that ends on the roof, where Jason repeats the Professor's last words: "Look at us. Look what they make you give." Paz lowers his gun, but Vosen shows up and shoots Jason, causing him to fall into the East River. 

       Three weeks pass, and Nicky is watching a news broadcast, discussing the leaked Blackbriar files, the arrest of both Hirsch and Vosen, a criminal investigation being opened against Kramer, and how Jason's body wasn't found in the East River, hinting that Jason survived the fall. And, we see that Jason did, indeed,.survive, as he swims off to parts unknown. 

          The Bourne Ultimatum really helps bring the story of the first three Bourne movies full circle. The returning cast of Matt Damon as Jason, Julia Stiles as Nicky, and Joan Allen as Landy were all fantastic. New additions like David Strathairn as Vosen, Scott Glenn as Kramer, Paddy Considine as Ross, and Albert Finney as Hirsch were also fantastic. And, it was neat to see Daniel Brühl as Martin Kreutz, and this was two years before he had a major role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. The action in the movie is insanely tight, and easily some of the best in the Bourne series. And, of course, there's the direction of the movie, and Paul Greengrass really improved upon the work he did with The Bourne Supremacy. Overall, this is seen as one of the best of the Bourne series for a good reason, and I'm giving The Bourne Ultimatum a rating of 5/5. 

       Okay guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time. Oh, and as for the next two Bourne movies? I'm going to get to those around January.