A Lost Identity… A gained Supremacy… A fitting Ultimatum

The “Bourne” series is the sort of thriller that nicely illustrates the paradoxical irony of The Vicarious Experience: in fact the series thrives on it. Few of us will ever get behind the wheels of fast cars at Doppler-shift speeds in the prime cities of Europe; encounter lethal adversaries and muscle our ways through them with splendid sleight of hand martial arts’ reflexes; blow up prime estates in Munich, Paris, Madrid; be glib in over five languages and escape posse of police and special forces whilst hopping through Europe and America. But, boy, would we like to! The irony is that Bourne doesn’t want any of these!

Bourne, arguably Robert Ludlum’s best creation, the first agent of the Blackbriar (a secret military operation for grooming cold blooded killers) ilk, goes about his duty of “saving American lives” until the feeling of sympathy and guilt creeps into him. An accident occurs, he loses his memory and that sets in the motion for what is to be the epic series. A stray agent with the ghosts of his past hunting him forms the main MacGuffin, a catalyst for him to display his catalogue of deadly skills that he is surprised that he possesses leading onto the sinister schemes that he must overcome to discover who he really was before he turned into a killing machine and indict the top level conspirators.

“The Bourne Ultimatum” leaps, scampers, scraps and drives its way into the pantheon of all-time great action movies. But the third and best chapter of the amnesiac spy saga has more going on above the shoulders than on the streets, sidewalks and rooftops. This movie is alive with the thrill of thought and the courage of a most timely moral compass. “Ultimatum” is best classified as a fortuitous occurrence in the genre of “threequels”, which are generally either tired or tepid lacking the “Prestige”(-ious) (as a colleague put it) final punch. It clearly does provide the fitting finale to the brilliance that is exuded by its elder siblings. The action sequences are fresh; the story a bit grave and “Ultimatum”, just as “Identity” and "Supremacy", moves with the same hyper-caffeinated, blink-and-you-miss-an-action-sequence speed that drives Ludlum's novels breathlessly through 600-odd pages.

The movie features spectacular sequences uncluttered by superfluous digressions (some long sequences rush by before you realize there hasn’t been any dialogue for twenty minutes) of sheer simplicity that nevertheless swells with urgent political undertones. The stakes are high, politics is dirty and they dovetail neatly with current events and the questions that surround a carte blanche surveillance society. The movie espouses the qualms that many have about unchecked power that is wielded. [In the movie, the activities that CIA honcho (David Stratharin) says falls under the “umbrella of Blackbriar”.] The movie also acts as an exposition of technology (or imagination!) of tracking a person across any corner of the world. THE CIA CAN WATCH EVERYTHING!!!! The level of technology may or may not be available but they look oh-so real!

The action itself is superbly staged; Mr. Paul Greengrass and his crew (of the academy nominated United 93 fame) combine camera movement and editing, spontaneity and lockstep precision, to create a sense of constant movement that keeps everyone at the edge of their seats. Even better: The masterful fight and flight is never divorced from the excitement of a good cat-and-mouse hunt, bolstered by the feeling that the end awaits anyone who doesn’t stay a step ahead of the curve. The waterloo station sequence, the roof top jumping chases, the exhilarating car rides et al requires one to exercise a great amount of self-control to remain fixed to the chair. It’s tempting to say that any macho actor could show up on the Bourne set and coast on the movie’s considerable craft.

BUT THAT IS TO COMMIT TREASON, A SORT OF SACRILEGE TO THE SERIES!

Matt Damon IS Jason Bourne as much as Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger IS the Terminator, and Johnny Depp IS Jack Sparrow. He masters the role and leaves nothing to envy from any other of the blockbuster actions stars, past or present. He has made the character so real that even though some of the action in the film pushes the envelope on realism, he keeps Jason well grounded unlike another action hero, a certain NYPD cop who went into his “4-quel” fighting F-18’s from container vehicles.

Well, this was one good treat from the Action department of Hollywood, a feast for the eyes and the satiating feeling of one good action movie embraces the frequent movie goer!