When the long winded chase scenes with explosions and running and jumping and cars and motorcycles and stunts and super human feats comes along in most action movies, I tend to zone out. Despite the makers' concerted efforts to dazzle moviegoers with non stop action in films like The Island, Tomb Raider, etc. etc. – they just end up boring me to tears. Except in this case.
Somehow the entire Bourne trilogy manages to genuinely excite and thrill, even though it's made up almost entirely of what tends to be the worst parts of other movies. The final(?) installment, The Bourne Ultimatum, is no exception; it's a tight, tense thriller that leaves you breathless. And no one can argue that these are just plain entertaining to both men and women, which is rare for an action film.
Part of the credit goes to director Paul Greengrass, a master at capturing mayhem. He shot to critical stardom with his realistic portrayal of the Northern Ireland uprising of 1972 in Bloody Sunday and has continued to develop an exhilarating career, particularly with the last two Bourne installments. One can't forget the writing either when giving credit to the film's achievement – both the original material, the novels of Robert Ludlum, and the screenwriters responsible for putting his words into action.
The chase scenes, of which there are many, are truly remarkable and Jason Bourne, portrayed by Matt Damon (who deserves all the praise these films have earned him), relies on smarts as much as brawn to escape repeatedly from the multitude of people hunting him down.
To fully experience the awesome powers of Bourne, you should rent all three movies.
But what do you think?