Bourne Again

Jason Bourne treats emoting a bit like catching his breath: He does it only because he has to.

by Drew Lazor

"You couldn't make this stuff up," shrugs CIA higher-up Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) as he thumbs through Jason Bourne's files — an oh-so-convenient device for rehashing the first two installments of the Bourne series at the outset of The Bourne Ultimatum. He's half-right: At its core, the franchise runs on so much unbridled testosterone that it sometimes seems less written than begotten. But even at his hypermanliest, Matt Damon has always approached the title role — the amnesiac killing machine bent on discovering why he is an amnesiac killing machine — with the right sort of steely-eyed stoicism. He treats emoting a bit like catching his breath: He does it only because he has to.

Though it's being sold as a "Bourne on Broadway!" homecoming, Ultimatum is similar to its predecessors in terms of international reach — he doesn't show up in NYC before getting some stamps on his passport. The plane-hopping begins in London with Bourne tracking down journalist Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), who's dug up information on Blackbriar, a new incarnation of the corrupt Treadstone assassin training program that birthed Bourne in the first place. But the black ops — convinced beyond a doubt that Bourne is a liability — are wise to their meeting. A few dodged bullets later, Bourne finds himself en route to Madrid, desperately seeking Ross' informant in an attempt to buff the why out of two feature-length whats.

It's in Spain that director Paul Greengrass, who also helmed The Bourne Supremacy, reminds us that, for all of his unconscionable limb-snapping, Bourne is just a confused dude. Such revelation comes in the form of CIA field op Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who became Bourne's ally in the last film. While Stiles sleepwalking through a thankless part is nothing new, her function as Bourne's sole confidante is justifiable, if not a bit wasteful. Even more understated is the maternal role taken on by internal investigator Pamela Landy (Joan Allen).

Much is being made of the large-scale, smash-'em-up Big Apple climax, for which the production managed to shut down Manhattan's Seventh Avenue. But for the money, it doesn't get much better — or more Bourne — than the utterly enjoyable gambit set in Tangier, where the hero tears through streets on a dirtbike, hops from roof to roof and engages in one hell of a washroom scuffle with silent operative Desh (Joey Ansah). The broad-stroke fight choreography is the proper vessel for Greengrass' frenetic handheld shots and rapid-fire cuts. While he probably considers his techniques more intimate than they really are, there is a certain convenience in getting the action delivered to you instead of having to pick it up. With Ultimatum, Greengrass might've pieced together the most epic chase scene in years, but his most exciting work takes place inside a dirty shower stall.

(drew.lazor@citypaper.net)

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM | Directed by Paul Greengrass | A Universal Pictures release