WhatzUp - Leisure Time Weekly for Northeast Indiana

Bourne Ultimatum
by Catherine Lee

Okay, I admit it, IÕm a Bourne nerd. IÕve watched The Bourne Identity probably 25 times and The Bourne Supremacy about a dozen times. There was no question that IÕd see the latest in the screen adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novels, The Bourne Ultimatum. And, if as rumored, they continue to write screenplays and extend this franchise, IÕll gladly visit the multiplex for a fix of Matt Damon as the super-competent government agent trying to remember things about himself as easily as he can size up an opponent and overcome any obstacle.

On "The Daily Show" Damon joked that he and Paul Greengrass, the director of the second and third installments of this trilogy, have joked that a future film could be called The Bourne Redundancy. And though The Bourne Ultimatum is perfectly entertaining while it is happening, they have already crossed the redundancy threshold. It isnÕt just that The Bourne Ultimatum extends the timeline of Jason Bourne by only a day or so. We just donÕt learn much about how Jason Bourne lived during his long service as an assassin or much else about him. We learn a few crumbs of knowledge of how he became Jason Bourne. Maybe IÕm just hopelessly female, but the journey of self-discovery is one of the main attractions of this series, and there is very little of that in The Bourne Ultimatum.

The new movie picks up just before the last movie ends. The Russians are chasing Jason, and heÕs on a mission to figure out who he is. At the end of The Bourne Supremacy Jason has tried, as best he can, to expiate one of his sins. HeÕs stopped by the apartment of a young woman to tell her that her mother didnÕt kill her father and then herself. He killed them. There is no scene in the new movie that matches the emotion and quiet elegance of this scene. HeÕs struggling to remember, which is extremely brave since every memory is so awful. A journalist in London publishes a story about covert programs and mentions Jason Bourne, and the race to find the source of this story is on. Jason wants to find the source to find out more about himself. The CIA wants to find the source because they want to know who the leak in their organization is. So the chase is on. In one corner, there is Jason Bourne. In the other corner is all of the intelligence community of the United States and its allies. They fear Jason may be recovering more memories. He is. We see in repetitive flashbacks the waterboarding that was key to breaking him down and building him back up as a killer. So on the governmentÕs side we have Joan Allen reprising her role as Pamela Landy, the good Girl Scout of the agency. Having come closer to catching Bourne than anyone, she is assigned to the case, much to the distress of Noah Vosen (David Straithairn) who doesnÕt think he needs any help. Scott Glenn is creepily in charge as Ezra Kramer, the director in charge of all these shenanigans. Lurking in the shadows is Albert Finney as Dr. Albert Hirsh, the ÒtrainerÓ of special agents.

Julia Stiles is back as Nicky Parsons, an agent who has known Bourne in previous assignments and films. Stiles is styled in this film as a sympathetic player who begins to look like Marie (the wonderful Franka Potente), who fell for Jason in the first film and was killed off with great underwater style in the second film. Bourne fanatics like myself know that the original sin of the series lies here at home. It isnÕt right to run people into assassins, even though it is possible. So betrayal and intrigue are inside. So are lots of cool gadgets and tracking devices and computer screens and all kinds of fancy technology.

And of course The Bourne Ultimatum is almost constantly in motion. There is a nod to parkour (David Belle's art of movement) in the rooftop and window-to-window chase scene in Tangiers. There is a wicked vicious fight between Bourne and an assassin sent to kill him and Nicky. There is car chase and wreck scene through the streets of New York which looks really cool, but IÕve never seen the city streets so empty or so many cars without air bags. I know this is an action film, but the constant motion in every scene wears on you, especially when the camera canÕt hold still while people have a conversation. (Note to Greengrass: Audiences have figured out that if you have to incessantly jiggle the camera during every scene of conversation youÕre probably trying to cover up the fact that there isnÕt much plot underneath the shaky cam).

I miss Doug Liman. I said that when the series switched after The Bourne Identity to Greengrass for The Bourne Supremacy. I still miss him. Liman knows how to mix romance and action. He abandoned the Bourne movies to direct Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I would love to see another Bourne movie that can finesse a mix of elements as well as Liman did and does. I admire Greengrass; United 93 was a wonderful film, marvelously made for a film with a necessarily grim trajectory. In The Bourne Ultimatum it feels like Greengrass is a little too concerned with reminding us of all the awful things the arrogance of the United States produces. Yes, we not only torture our enemies with waterboarding, we use it as a training technique on our own. The powerful justify everything with the lamest, most obvious betrayals of what we claim as our greatest virtues. And the smug, self-satisfied behavior of our leaders creates ghastly nonsense at home and abroad. I get all that, but I want more Bourne and less finger-wagging.

There are several nice moments in The Bourne Ultimatum, especially a speech By Damon that echoes the death speech of Clive Owen in The Bourne Identity. The Bourne Ultimatum ends on a note that screams sequel. I hope the sequel tips more toward the original, more Bourne remembering and trying to atone for his crimes. Damon is aging well into the part. HeÕs a little more buff, a bit less boyish, and that suits what heÕs going through. HeÕs a talented and very likable actor, and hopefully the next Bourne will let him do more than look blank, tense up and go off.

Catherine Lee is the executive director of Fort Wayne Cinema Center, the only independently operated movie theater in Fort Wayne, specializing in independent, foreign, documentary, specialty and classic films.