The Bourne Ultimatum - 4.75/5

RottenTomatoes Certified Critics gave the movie 94% (last time I checked) and IMDB\\\'s visitors (which is thousands of votes) averaged out to 9.0 (third highest ever behind Shawshank and Godfather)...so I guess the previous posters hating on Bourne\\\'s awesomeness are wrong.

Cmon wrote:

RottenTomatoes Certified Critics gave the movie 94% (last time I checked) and IMDB's visitors (which is thousands of votes) averaged out to 9.0 (third highest ever behind Shawshank and Godfather)...so I guess the previous posters hating on Bourne's awesomeness are wrong.

Some people can't handle the non-steady cam action. But, these are people that also didn't like Raising Arizona, which was the first non-steady cam film. And, really, are these people who should have their film opinions counted?

I think not...

Despite the bashing, make sure to note that I still gave it a 3.5/5, which is a good score in my book. Not great, but good nonetheless. Seriously though, it's probably barely in the top-10 best movies that have come out over the last year or so. The Bourne movies are good, but they can't even hold the jock of movies The Departed or Children of Men. It's a slow, cookie-cutter plot with no real twists (spoiler!: finding out he volunteered wasn't really a twist, didn't we (the audience) already know that? Or at least had enough clues to put it together?). You want a unique plot with a real twist go watch Lucky Number Slevin. The action and chase scenes were both pretty good, but cheapened greatly by Greengrass's shitty directing. Still though, if the action/chasing is supposed to be the focal point of this movie (which I assume it was since that's what about 70% of the movie seemed to be), I'd rather go rent The Transporter or any of the Die Hard movies. The whole movie was just a little bland, slow-moving, and generic for me.

Also, The Bourne Ultimatum may have 9.0/10 right now on IMDB, but it's been out for what, 2 days? Can you say "fanboys"? Sorry, but I have a feeling most of the people that have voted already are the ones that were all psyched to see it and went on opening night - they knew they were going to like it before they even saw it. Sure it's got 1500 votes, but most of the movies on there have 100 times that many, a couple almost have 200 times that many. 1500 may sound like a lot, but in this context it isn't. I'd be willing to bet that once 50,000 votes are in, it's not even above 8.0, much less on the top-250 movies of all-time list.

Also, if IMDB is a valid source as to what is good and what is not good, then I think it's fair to say that The Bourne Trilogy comes nowhere NEAR touching LOTR, which comes in at 11, 16, and 25th. None of the Bourne movies are even on the list. Stars Wars at 8, 12, and 109. Take it as you will...

The Departed? I fuggin can't stand Scorsese. He needs a good editor to chop out all the sh!t in his 3+ hour movies.

The Departed was the same thing as Gangs of New York. Mole gets in close with the bad guy. Whole movie is built around the suspense of whether or not he'll get discovered and when he'll try to take the guy out. Violent ending where the bad guy finally dies. Brilliant!

All of his movies are decent, but there isn't a single one that I can think of that I don't get a little annoyed with how long it is.

Bourne Ultimatum doesn't deserve an Oscar either, but it was a great action movie.

The first two bourne's were way better than the third one because all the third one did was combine the first two movies into basically one movie.

The part where "Nikki" (Julia Styles) is dying her hair black in the sink and then cutting it. was it just me or was that like the same exact sink and room that "Marie" cut and dyed her hair in in the first one.

Then you get the "we'd be having this conversation face to face" line which was good but they already used that same creativity in the second movie when he tells Pam it's easy to find Nikki because "she's standing right next to you"

I also dislike when movies first come out like the Matrix and the first Bourne and it is clear who everyone is and who is in charge and then in the second one there is new characters that weren't even mentioned in the first movie, then by the thrid one the "head guy" in the first movie like Morpheus go from being the leader to an absolute nobody. The first two guys in the third bourne weren't even mentioned in the first two movies.

Not even close to the best trilogy ever.

the scene with nikki cutting her hair was supposed to mimic the scene where marie was cutting and dyeing her hair. That's the point. Nikki, you can assume, was a previous lover of Bourne, and so you were supposed to draw a parallel between the two. I actually thought he was going to try and roll with her, but he realized she'd probably end up dead, just like marie did, if she stayed with him.

there was a 9 minute shot in children of men? where?

adian can wrote:

there was a 9 minute shot in children of men? where?

SPOILERS!

I'm not sure it was actually 9 minutes, but it was quite long nonetheless. It was in the big "Escape From New York"-esque prison during the big battle with the tanks, shortly after the dreadlock guy executed pretty much all the people helping Theo (Clive Owen) out. It was when he was running around the buildings during the fighting with the baby looking for the girl (don't remember her name). Baby cries, all the soldiers stop and look in awe. It's been a while since I've seen it so that's probably not exactly what happened, but that's the scene. It's possible there was some digital editing, but I've never seen any suggestions of it, and if there was it was really f***ing good.

While the movies are decent, I still feel that they could have been a great deal better if the director had at least used SOME of the storyline from the books. While I normally try to not think about the book while I watch a movie (LOTR, Narnia,etc) the original story the Ludlum wrote is just so much more thrilling and convoluted than the mundane plots that they are using in the movies. Seriously, read the books, don't bother with the movies.

i'm gonna have to go with the Rush Hour trilogy, boys.

I liked the movie, but i also didn't like the strikingly close similarities between nikki and marie. first you had the hair stuff, then later on Nikki had the exact same look after watching Bourne kill the asset that Marie had in the 1st movie after he killed the assassin in that Paris apt. really wish they could have deleted that stuff. i guess they had to find some way to make nikki's character more relevant in the 3rd movie, but come up with something better than that

I thought the same out the Nikki/Marie thing at first, but then thought it may have been intentional, a pre-cursor perhaps?

what about the part where the "asset" crashes the VW in the bridge with his black jacket on and is leaning over the windshield with the broken glass? That was the same scene as the second movie with the guy who is dying in the Rover with the black jacket on?

How is he a genius? Just because he makes some indie film using a hand held the whole time doesn't make you a genius. Oh wow, 21 Grams was SO original. 21 Grams was almost as bad as Blair Witch, you couldn't see a damn thing happening.

I'm sorry, but give me John Ford any day of the week.

i thought it was kind of obvious that bourne and nikki were in some type of relationship before he lost his memory. she hinted at it a few times and kept saying "you really can't remember anything?"...and her reason for helping him out was pretty vague and also gave another clue to it. i was waiting for it to end with bourne coming to see nikki just like it did in the first one with marie. just gotta love movies that leave it open for sequels to keep you wondering...

A few random thoughts...

First, I'm a huge fan of the Bourne movies, but even I wouldn't put them in some sort of elite all-time status for movies, althougth I definitely like the Bourne series much more than most of the other trilogies mentioned on this thread.

Personally, I think this one is better than the second, but still not as good as the first. I wouldn't have minded a little longer movie with more dialogue between action sequences.

Finally, someone posted that Damon has refused to make a fourth -- is that true? I thought I had already heard that they are planning on a 4th and it sure seemed that this one was intentionally left open with the unanswered questions on the history between Bourne and Nikki.

93. 8.2 Full Metal Jacket (1987) 82,454

94. 8.2 The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Wow, after this, I'm not so sure I agree with IMDB's ratings, or those who rate them as such.

I'm sure, eventually, that Bourne Ultimatum will eventually settle into something less than what it is now.

And seriously, the shaky cam has GOT to go. Did anyone else think the chase scene in Morocco with the first asset get to be a BIT too drawn out?

ZzZzZZZz

jesus, of course it was intentional! He wanted to set up the parallels between marie and nikki. The fact he didn't take nikki with him shows either:

1. He's grown to realize that the people who get close to him die, so he's letting her go, or

2. There will be a relationship that he can go back to later. Yes, in much the same way he went back with marie.