Bourne Again

From the very beginning, the Bourne movies have been thinking person's action films: they're dense with plot, well-acted, and filled with exciting action scenes. The Bourne Ultimatum is no exception to that rule. It starts off with a chase in Moscow, filmed with handheld cameras in a style that puts you right in the middle of the action and heightens the suspense, and doesn't let up until its conclusion less than two hours later (talk about an efficient film). Damon, as always, is great, and he's joined here by Joan Allen (reprising her role from The Bourne Supremacy), David Strathairn, and Albert Finney. The handheld camerawork continues throughout the film, giving it a jittery look, and director Paul Greengrass (also returning from Supremacy) stages an edge of your seat chase through Tangiers and a short but effective one in New York with Bourne driving a police car, both of which are really cool. But some of the dialogue feels stilted, and I don't think the movie's as good or exciting as Supremacy was. Still, calling Ultimatum the lesser of the three films is like saying chocolate is the worst ice cream flavor — it may be lacking in ingredients, but it's still pretty darned good. And that's why I'm giving Ultimatum a B+.