|
| The Bourne Ultimatum (Widescreen Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Paul Greengrass
Actors: Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, Colin Stinton
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $5.00
You Save: $24.98 (83%)
New (68) Used (55) Collectible (4) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  414 reviews
Sales Rank: 413
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Arabic (Original Language), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Russian (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 116
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD61032274D
UPC: 025193227423
EAN: 0025193227423
ASIN: B000VWYJ86
Theatrical Release Date: December 11, 2007
Release Date: December 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 07/29/2008 Run time: 116 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
The often breathtaking, final installment in the Bourne trilogy finds the titular assassin with no memory closing in on his past, finally answering his own questions about his real identity and how he came to be a seemingly unstoppable killing machine. Matt Damon returns for another intensely physical performance as Jason Bourne, the rogue operative at war with the CIA, which made him who and what he is and managed to kill his girlfriend in the series' second film, The Bourne Supremacy. Now looking for payback, Bourne goes in search for the renegade chief of CIA operations in Europe and North Africa, partnering for a time with a mysterious woman from his past (Julia Stiles) and constantly--constantly--on the run from assassins, intelligence foot soldiers, and cops. Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93) with the director's thrilling, trademark textures and shaky, documentary style, The Bourne Ultimatum is largely a succession of action scenes that reveal a lot about the story's characters while they're under duress. Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, and Paddy Considine comprise the film's terrific supporting cast, and the well-traveled movie leads viewers through Turin, Madrid, Tangiers, Paris, London, and New York. Overall, this is a satisfying conclusion to Bourne's exciting and protracted mystery. --Tom Keogh
Beyond The Bourne Ultimatum on DVD 
More Bourne | 
More Action from Universal Studios | 
More Matt Damon |
Stills from The Bourne Ultimatum (Click for larger image)
Amazon.com
The often breathtaking, final installment in the Bourne trilogy finds the titular assassin with no memory closing in on his past, finally answering his own questions about his real identity and how he came to be a seemingly unstoppable killing machine. Matt Damon returns for another intensely physical performance as Jason Bourne, the rogue operative at war with the CIA, which made him who and what he is and managed to kill his girlfriend in the series' second film, The Bourne Supremacy. Now looking for payback, Bourne goes in search for the renegade chief of CIA operations in Europe and North Africa, partnering for a time with a mysterious woman from his past (Julia Stiles) and constantly--constantly--on the run from assassins, intelligence foot soldiers, and cops. Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93) with the director's thrilling, trademark textures and shaky, documentary style, The Bourne Ultimatum is largely a succession of action scenes that reveal a lot about the story's characters while they're under duress. Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, and Paddy Considine comprise the film's terrific supporting cast, and the well-traveled movie leads viewers through Turin, Madrid, Tangiers, Paris, London, and New York. Overall, this is a satisfying conclusion to Bourne's exciting and protracted mystery. --Tom Keogh
Beyond The Bourne Ultimatum on DVD
More Bourne |
More Action from Universal Studios |
More Matt Damon |
Stills from The Bourne Ultimatum (Click for larger image)
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 409 more reviews...
 Where in the World is Jason Bourne? August 22, 2007
98 out of 115 found this review helpful
(4 1/2 *'s) `The Bourne Ultimatum' is a non-stop thriller ride that easily propels itself to the top of the three-peat super summer. The third in the series, Jason Bourne (played superbly by a tough and tormented Matt Damon) still suffers his same identity crisis, this time criss-crossing his way across the globe with breakneck speed. Suspenseful for more than the thrill of the chase, we are given a gripping sense of drama as CIA director, Noah Vosen (played with tough officiousness by David Strathairn in another great performance) and his sparring co-leader, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen in an admirably complex role) come to grips with Bourne and his alleged treason against their assassination operation. Hooking up with a fellow operative Nicky Parsons (a sleight-of-hand Julia Stiles), Bourne and associates provide enough development to keep us guessing throughout.
Besides all of the identity intrigue, the action is relentless without being predictable. All the scenes of chase and violence are fresh and invigorating. Flashbacks from Jason's fragmented memory add substance to the fray, and the board room tension at control central, both at the CIA and the UK are formidable. Creeping into his memory at various times, senior CIA figure, Dr. Albert Hirsch (in a welcome sunset role by Albert Finney), gives the mystery proper credence. While I found Greengrass's direction a mastery of timing, drama, and movement, I do have a quibble with the editing. Although an acquired taste, too many scenes are presented as an enhanced blur, both in the thick of the chase and with the flashback sequences. Just as an observation, the revelations presented are satisfying with the resolution of his identity being one of the least compelling.
`The Bourne Ultimatum' deserves approximately the same accolades as 'Casino Royale' with its stunning development, pace, and execution. For those who love action pictures, this film is a list-topping must-see movie for the end of summer.
ReBourne August 4, 2007
70 out of 87 found this review helpful
The enigma that is Jason Bourne (a focused, determined, conflicted performance by the terrific Matt Damon) is almost (there is indeed room for a Bourne4) un-masked by the end of this film: the newest installment of a series of now three excellent films; the last two directed by Paul Greengrass who also directed the staggeringly focused and shatteringly emotional "Flight 93."
On the very basic level, through all three films, Bourne has been on a quest to find himself: who he is, who he was and why he does the things that he does. His memory is limited to a few flashes of memory here and there about his history which leads him in "Ultimatum" to where he began: C.I.A. training HQ.
Director Greengrass directs this film with intelligence and a thoughtfulness this type of film rarely gets: in fact this type of international thriller is non-existent in the New Millennium outside the Bourne series. Antecedents of this series lead you back to the 1960's and 1970's in films like "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" or "Three Days of the Condor." Despite this, Greengrass and his writers and of course the source material: the novels of Robert Ludlum make this all of the now and of the today mostly because they focus on the plight of one man so it is easy for us to identify: aren't we all on a quest to find ourselves our entire lives?
Matt Damon, once thought of as lightweight after films like "Oceans 11" and "Good Will Hunting" has proven the naysayers wrong by playing Jason Bourne from the center of his heart and soul: he is bruised, beat-up, tortured, and whipped not only on the physical level but more importantly on the ethical and cosmic one. His Bourne is suffering, bleeding from within with not only the blood that the life of a murderer for hire produces but also from the bile and acid that shreds and eats at his the life-force. He doesn't eat, he hardly drinks, he has no life to speak of and when he dares to love...that is taken away also. Bourne is empty.
Towards the end of "The Bourne Ultimatum," Jason confronts a man who has been sent to kill him and he asks: "Do you have any idea why you want to kill me" "Do you have any idea why you do the things that you do? The movie comes to a dead stop after an hour and a half of car and foot chases, hand-to-hand combat, gunfire ricocheting about and we all take a deep breath of recognition for Bourne is not only commenting on himself and on the man who would be his murderer but on all of us sitting there in the theater with our hearts in our throats.
Rewriting the genre April 16, 2008
36 out of 36 found this review helpful
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy? That would be like crediting "The Matrix" with a satisfying level of originality.
Everything the makers, cast and crew have learned about what makes the Bourne formula tick, and click, is revved to supercharged perfection in this pinnacle of a movie.
More is not always better (Matrix 2?), but with careful attention to detail and a plot that works like a Rolex, Ultimatum's unrelenting pace never feels overblown. Matt Damon's impenetrable oasis of razor focus and quiet, seething menace, now seeming to melt glass, finds a new level of counterpoint in this movie. Damon has become so riveting in this role, it's almost possible to overlook the stellar cast around him, matching step for step in a multi-threaded, multi-tiered, multi-national locomotive of twists and action played out with the orchestration of a Beethoven score.
There's something just plain admirable about a movie franchise which insists on digging deeper, finding something more, when a cruise-control third installment would have sufficed and certainly made bank anyway.
Terrific Conclusion to the Series November 5, 2007
32 out of 37 found this review helpful
"The Bourne Ultimatum" completes one of the best film trilogies ever made. I think if you look at these three films as separate entries, they each stand up as very good examples of filmmaking. And as a trilogy, they are exemplary.
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) limps along a snowy Moscow street, trying to elude the police. But they quickly spot him and he has to evade them before making his way into Western Europe. There, he reads a story in the Guardian, written by columnist Simon Ross (Paddy Considine, "In America"), about him, the death of his girlfriend in India and more. Clearly, this reporter has talked to someone who knows a lot of secrets. He arranges to meet Ross, but a covert arm of the FBI, led by Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) has also learned of Ross' knowledge and wants him dead. Bourne spots the FBI agents at their designated meeting place and has to help Ross elude the men before they can meet. This leads to a terrific game of cat and mouse throughout Waterloo Train Station. Bourne eventually gets to talk to the reporter and learns about Operation Blackbriar, an extension of Project Treadwell, the project Bourne initially joined. Bourne's next stop, Madrid, where the informant is located. Frustrated with his inability to stop Bourne, Vosen brings in Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) to help track the elusive agent. In Madrid, Bourne encounters Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) who was reassigned to this station after their last encounter. She decides to help him as much as possible, and they momentarily throw Vosen off the track. But they are now on the run. With every step, Bourne's memory comes back to him and he soon remembers everything. EVERYTHING. Leading him back to New York. Leading him back to Vosen, Landy and Blackfriar.
Picking up basically where "Supremacy" left off, director Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Supremacy", "United 93"), writer Tony Gilroy ("The Bourne Identity", "Supremacy" and "Ultimatum") and star Matt Damon bring us to the conclusion of this fantastic trilogy.
Even with two different directors working on the series, all three films have had remarkable consistency. If anything, Greengrass brings a more frantic style of cinematography to the films he has directed. How does he do this? With a lot of handheld camera work. This may turn some people off, in "Ultimatum", I counted maybe two shots that were not done with a handheld camera, but this technique works very favorably for this type of film. Using a handheld camera does two things; it gives us the eye of the surveillance watching Bourne and all of his counterparts and it makes everything very close to us, a little more frantic and more dangerous. Because Bourne is always being watched, or more accurately, someone is always trying to watch him, the handheld camera gives us the feel of surveillance cameras swooping through train stations and public places trying to pick up the subject. One of the more memorable scenes in "Ultimatum" shows Vosen (Strathairn) and his team, in New York, using all of their tools and tricks to track the Guardian reporter in London. They make it look so easy, and I'm sure this isn't far from the truth. Since Bourne is trying to meet with the reporter, he is also aware of their tricks and has to choreograph the meeting, getting the reporter into a safe place, helping him to elude the surveillance. It is a nifty piece of cat and mouse action. Throughout the film, the camera remains very close to Bourne and when he has conversations with people, we see them from over his shoulder, or vice versa. As they talk, the camera will shift a little and the subjects shoulder fills in more of the frame, giving us a small view of Bourne. Again, this helps to bring us into Bourne's world, giving us a feel of the claustrophobic, dangerous quality his life has.
Because "Ultimatum" is about Bourne remembering things, and trying to get his life back, the character has to go through a lot of change. As Bourne learns more of the puzzle, his memories gradually return. Damon has a lot on his plate to make this part of the character believable while the film continues to deliver all of the action we are hoping for. Bourne has been a killer and covert agent for a long time, so his emotions aren't going to come flooding back to the surface. I don't think he is capable of showing more than a little emotion at any one time. In "Supremacy", when his girlfriend, Marie (Franka Potente, "Run Lola Run") is killed in India, he is disturbed, but he never breaks down and cries. He doesn't have time for this. The killers are soon after him and he has to keep moving. In "Ultimatum", Bourne stops in Paris to tell her brother, Martin (Daniel Bruhl, "Goodbye, Lenin") about her death. As Bourne speaks, he remains his normal self, but it is clear he is having difficulty relaying the events to her brother. Do they hug and provide comfort to one another? Of course not. Bourne can't let his defenses down or show weakness. Yet, throughout, Damon manages to provide quick little glimpses of how all of this is affecting him. And the performance is entirely consistent with his character and the story.
Some of these glimpses give us the feeling that as Bourne's memory returns, he realizes he doesn't need to kill everyone. So he steps away from some people, people who don't need to die for him to get to his next goal. As his memory returns, he realizes he has a conscience.
The action throughout is fantastic. From the cat and mouse sequence in Waterloo to a number of fights between Bourne and various assassins, he never has a chance to get a breath. Greengrass' handheld camera also helps to make these scenes seem more dangerous and challenging, more intimate. Because we are so close to the action, we feel as though we are part of it, engaged in the action with Bourne as he uses his fist, knives, whatever he can get his hands on. Most of the action scenes involve hand to hand combat, and these are choreographed in such a way that helps us keep track of the action. Sure, it moves fast and furious, and we don't always see the two characters faces, but we know who is where when it matters.
There is also a significant amount of other action in these films. In "Ultimatum", this involves a car chase through New York with a unique and interesting beginning and finish.
"Ultimatum" is set against the backdrop of our current government, an institution that believes they need to watch anyone and everyone, they have the right to lock people up, to kill them, if they are even suspected of posing a threat to our nation. Greengrass and Gilroy integrate these ideas into the framework of the story, allowing Bourne to uncover the full details, giving us a believable, interesting look at what our government could be, may be capable of. But don't question them. If you do, you are threatening the lives and safety of millions of Americans.
"The Bourne Ultimatum" caps off the best trilogy to come out of Hollywood in the last decade. Looking at some recent examples, each trilogy has at least one seriously flawed entry. "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spiderman" each had dismal third entries in their series. "Ocean's 12" didn't have a very cohesive or interesting screenplay. The "Star Wars" prequels? Well, can anyone say they actually want to see any of those films again? "Mission Impossible"? A weak first film followed by two stronger films, all of which are from different directors who add their individual styles, so it isn't a cohesive whole. If anything, each film in the "Bourne" series has built on the success of the previous entry, ratcheting the level of suspense, action and intrigue. Can a fourth "Bourne" become a reality?
Another Greengrass Triumph August 18, 2007
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
While it certainly is important that the characters be believable in this kind of film (and they all are quite believable), the star of this film is the incomparable Paul Greengrass who directs this as he did the last and each of his films with a pace and presence that ratchets upwards your gut reaction to the story.
The story itself is the same story as each of the other two: Bourne is pissed about being used and either he's after the CIA or they are after him. There is some discussion now of an Oedipal subtext to the overall story, and while there is a passing resemblance to that tragedy, it is not anywhere nearly so definite as it was in the last Bond film. Dench and Joan Allen represent Oedipal type mothers, but there was an almost Medea like quality to Dench that took the chemistry between her and Craig someplace else altogether. That isn't quite the story here, but even were it so, all of that becomes subsumed to the way Greengrass tells the story. This is a thrilling ride that never lets up, and as such, when there are moments of pause, such as those between Stiles and Damon in Morrocco, it is clear that they have nothing to really say. These are characters driven by action - they seem to have warped the Cartesian motif into I act, therefore I am, and more I am only when I act.
You may remember the German film with Famke Jansen, RUN LOLA RUN. Bourne is an American version of that. Greengrass makes the run transcendent. It's a great film for the summer, now I'm off to Jackie Chan....
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
