Director:
Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy, United 93)

Starring:
Matt Damon (Team America!, The Talented Mr Ripley)
Julia Stiles (Mona Lisa Smile, 10 things I hate about you)
Joan Allen (The Ice Storm, The Notebook)
Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, In America)

Release Year:
2007

Rating:
12A

Running Time:
113 minutes

Genre:
Action, Thriller

Synopsis:
This film is the last part of a trilogy, I went to see this film with 2 people who had seen the first two and 1 who hadn't. Although that one person didn't really understand what was going on they did enjoy it.

So a quick recap of the first two - Jason Bourne was found floating in the ocean with bullet holes in him. Suffering from amnesia he struggles to find who he is and why he was almost killed. After finding fake passports and a gun in a security box he begins to start retracing his steps trying to regain his memory.

The third film starts before the end of the second film (that makes no sense, but when you watch it it will.) Jason Bourne is closer than ever to finding out who he really is, and having read an article in the Guardian he goes about tracking down the reporter to gain his source. Unfortunately so are the CIA, who are ordered to kill Bourne on site.

He must find out who he is, why he is being hunted and clear his name before the CIA get to him. Add this with internal corruption, a secret assasination training school, flashbacks and some of the best chase scenes you will ever see and you are about there.

Jason Bourne:
Matt Damon is just about the most unlikely action hero around for my money, but in this series of films he is amazing. Mean, moody and full of intensity Bourne struggles to deal with the fact he is public enemy number 1, yet completely unaware how. Also he can kill a man with a biro or a toaster and is multi lingual - not every day skills. Obviously this character has been compared to James Bond. I think if Bond was half the man Bourne was, the Bond movies would last about 15 minutes! Bourne may be a trained assassin but he is a reluctant killer, he is unbelievably street smart and without a doubt focused - no women in bikinis to distract him here. A master at blending into a crowd he is one step ahead of everyone chasing him. This to me is Damon's defining role, it could explain why he is Hollywood's most bankable star.

The rest of the cast/ characters:
This film has an amazing cast, and I love that it is not afraid to kill off a few/some/most/all of its characters. After all this is a thriller. The CIA are sinister, the assassins are dark and smart and Julia Stiles (Nicky) returns in her role as a smart logistics agent. As with the filming locations, the cast is truly international coming from the US, UK, Venezuala and Spain to name a few.

The film style:
A lot of people I know say they have come out of the Bourne films with headaches and I can understand why. It is almost entirely shot on handheld cameras, and even shots of people talking are often shaky. The fast pace of some of the chase scenes can often be confusing about what is happening, but this to me adds to the whole effect of the movie. The only shots that are still seem to be the wode shots of citys, which range from Turin, ondon, Madrid and New York. These are absolutely beautifully shot and I respect the film makers for actually going out to these locations and not cheating by filming in a studio. It is also one of the few films around that isn't afraid to exploit silence, not filling every moment with needless sound effects. Also the Moby track at the end always reminds me of these films, which is a testiment to how well it works.

The Action:
You can guarantee from a Bourne film that there will be at least one great chase scene. In this there are two! The first is a rooftop chase across some place in Morocco (I can't remember - it began with T.) This is amazing, and if you ever get to see a making of documentary and see Matt Damon jump from a balcony across a gap and through a window, quickly followed by a cameraman you will be even more impressed. Bourne must avoid capture and protect the girl, all whilst being on a roof! The second is a car chase, obviously to Bourne fans as these are the money sequences. If you are a car chase fan you will not find better, other than in maybe Bullet or The French Connection. I can not say how much I love these sequences, they are fast paced, unpredicatable and must be so much fun to make. At times you don't know what is going to happen, but the unpredictability just adds to it. Obviously the fight sequences match the chases in that they are no holds barred and brilliant. I am a girl so fight scenes and car chases aren't exactly my thing, but these are expertly executed. If these are your thing you can not miss this film!

Overall:
When I went to the cinema tonight this is the only film I hadn't seen. This is the summer of massive blockbusters and just as I thought Transformers was the best, along came Bourne. I was expecting good and I got great. It wraps up every detail left unanswered and leaves you hanging on until the very last second. Obviously if you are unfamiliar with the first two watch them first, but this is no hardship - all three are brilliant! It is so nice nowadays to have a film with so much going on under 2 hours (granted only by six minutes) but the relatively short time of the film adds to the urgency and pace. I can not understate hor brilliant this film is - boys will love it for its gritty action and girls will love it for Matt Damon. As soon as this comes out on DVD I'm going to have a Bourne evening and watch them all back to back although nothing will beat it on the big screen.