The Bourne Ultimatum

I finally went to the movies this year... and it's only August!! I must admit that I've missed a few titles I wanted to see, but I just can't drag my ass to a theater anymore, it seems. I like our new life in the country, but it sure puts a strain on any outing whatsoever (and any store is 5 to 25 minutes away; I don't know how they do it in places where you have to drive an hour to get anywhere).

Anyway, at least the first (last?) movie I saw this year was really, really good, two thumbs way up indeed. Seems like for the Jason Bourne franchise, the third time is indeed a charm.

The movie is alive and vibrant from beginning to end, never dull, never absurd, never patronizing, never preposterous. Just the way an action thriller should be.

Our hero (Matt Damon) is still suffering from amnesia, but his memories pop up in bursts and sprouts more and more, helping him in his quest to understand what happened to him and why.

He crosses paths again with Nicki (Julia Stiles), and it's actually refreshing to see a Hollywood production in which no romantic or sexual relationship is forced into the script in order to respect the established canons.

I hate it when you're watching a movie, especially a thriller or an action movie, and you know right from the get-go that at some point he'll bed her, just because you have to have the token sex scene that feels totally unreal.

The supporting cast is excellent, just as it was in the previous Bourne outings, particularly Joan Allen, David Strathairn, and Albert Finney. The camera work is great, the script good, and John Powell's score pumps you up so much, it will stay with you long after you left the theater.

This is most definitely the year of the sequel (SpiderMan, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean...) but, judging from critics reviews, it seems like Bourne's third outing is the only one to actually improve on the franchise instead of sagging it down.

Go see it.

Grade: 8.5