CINEMIKE: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Director: Paul Greengrass

The Bourne Ultimatum tells the story of a very depressed and angry man punching things while his drunken friend films it on a handheld camera. At least that’s what I think it’s about. It’s honestly hard to tell.

This film is a bit of an enigma to me. It received both critical acclaim and box office success when it was originally released and is still generally well regarded today. The final chapter of the ‘Bourne Trilogy’ (which now consists of five films), ‘Ultimatum’ is supposed to present a grand finale to the mysteries and trials of Jason Bourne.

Now, I’ll admit something may have been lost on me. It certainly feels like this film was made for dedicated followers of the series, and it’s been a long time since I saw the prequels. But here’s the thing: I have seen them. I’ve actually seen ‘Identity’ twice, and I cannot recall a single thing about it. Nothing except the dim memory that one scene involves snow. Probably.

So being as hazy on Bourne’s past as Bourne is himself means I probably missed a few plot points. Luckily, the film was so bland that I didn’t really care.

The biggest gripe of all probably won’t be hard to predict. It’s the camera. Oh dear God, let’s talk about the camera. Every shot of every scene is filmed with a bobbing, crazily shaking camera that genuinely made me feel a little sick. Combine this with rapid cuts and it becomes very difficult to follow what’s happening when the pace accelerates past a gentle crawl.

I cannot comprehend what was going through director Paul Greengrass’s mind when he made this choice. Or perhaps I just don’t want to. Fight scene in a narrow corridor? Wave that camera around! Close up of Matt Damon’s scowling face? Too dull, we need to make the audience feel something exciting is happening!

This choice on Paul Greengrass’s part is distracting at best and excruciating at worse, not least because it draws focus from a lot of scenes that really could have been good. One particular fight between Bourne and another assassin definitely had potential, with the actors throwing chairs, swinging straight razors and whipping towels around. Directed by someone competent, this would have been entertaining. But under the aggressively awful hand of Greengrass we can distinguish maybe a few seconds at most as the camera swings around as if attached to a startled pigeon. The omnipresent grey filter and rapid editing obscure the rest.

I am well aware the dull, washed out look of the film and the shaking camera are deliberate choices. They convey the feeling of paranoia and joyless suspicion of Bourne and the other characters. But they are so unrelenting, even in scenes where such a tone doesn’t work, these choices quickly becomes tiresome rather than atmospheric.

This film saddens me because there really is a lot to like, but never given the chance to shine. In fact, The Bourne Ultimatum seems almost pathologically opposed to being interesting. Matt Damon brings what he can, but the script is so bland and uninspiring, and the direction so flat, that he never really gets to do much outside of a few quips.

The fight scenes (what little you can see of them) are for the most part well done, blending clumsy life-or-death slugging with tightly choreographed martial arts. The action and stunts, similarly, are satisfying but obscured by the editing and camera work. One scene, in which Bourne tries to guide a reporter through a busy train station via radio, is particularly clever and interesting, but it’s is a rare moment.

Direction alone might have been forgiven if Ultimatum presented an interesting plot. But as it stands the script is blocky and uninspired. Dialogue is almost entirely restricted to exposition, with character never really coming through beyond the stereotypes of ‘slimy government worker’, ‘not so slimy government worker’ and ‘earnest scowlyman’ .

In my diligent five minutes of research before writing this review, I found that an early draft of the script was written by, of all people, Tom Stoppard. Let that sink in for a second.

Stoppard, incidentally, wrote the fantastic Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, so this is a man we can trust with entertaining dialogue. ‘How could this have happened?’ I wondered to myself, existential dread rising uncontrollably. Luckily, there is an answer. “I wrote a script for [director] Paul Greengrass.” Stoppard said in a 2007 interview. “Some of the themes are still mine—but I don’t think there’s a single word of mine in the film”.

It shows.

All in all, I can’t recommend this film, but perhaps it’s simply not for me. If you can look past the truly horrific direction, ugly cinematography and dull plot, you’ll find a solid action core with a handful of interesting ideas. It will entertain, but probably won’t inspire. If that’s your jam, jam on.

Verdict

More like The Yawn Dull-timatum! Take that, Hollywood!

3/10

The Bourne Ultimatum – IMDB