movies: the bourne ultimatum

The Bourne Ultimatum... great movie, shame about the cinematography...

I'm going to get my big whinge out of the way right off the bat. I have the same problems with the third movie in the series that I did with the second... and those problems would be director Paul Greengrass, cinematographer Oliver Wood and editor Christopher Rouse.

I have no problem with some hand held camera work... making it feel like we're in the moment and there on the spot. But what I have a problem with is pretentious overly shaky camera work that you think is all arty and adds to the story. If I can't see what the hell is going on in the frame, then all your arty pretension doesn't mean dick to me as a ticket buying movie-goer.

On the up side, at least this time around we didn't leave the cinema with headaches and feeling nauseated from all the shake. Okay, so I have maybe a little bit of a headache, but that could be slightly self induced which I'll get into in a second.

In more than one scene I wasn't completely sure in the moment what the hell was going on until a couple of seconds after it had happened... but possibly even more annoying than the shaky "action cam" was the shaky "dialogue cam"... letting the out of focus back of somebody's head fill the frame and block out the person that's speaking just isn't good cinematography... or editing... or directing goddammit.

But moving on past that now...

I think that possibly I ended up with a headache because I kept forgetting to breathe during the action scenes... more than once the movie would slow down after a prolonged high action scene and I would find myself taking a big breath because I'd been unconsciously holding my breath (or at the very least taking very small and shallow breaths) all the way through. I'm not sure whether it was because the action bits were just extremely "actiony" or because of the crap camera work which meant I had to be paying complete and total attention to every little thing...

As far as story goes, it's what we've come to expect from the Bourne franchise... lots of action, lots of changing locations, no actual idea what the hell is going on plot-wise until Jason works things out himself... but it's very much "of the moment"... you strap in at the beginning and you're just there with him for the whole movie.

It's also nice to see the familiar faces back again... Matt Damon is pretty much a given, obviously, although he's suddenly looking very mature and grown-up in this movie... still sexy, but a more mature sex. As far as returning faces other than Matt go we have Julia Stiles reprising her role of Nicky for the third time... and each time the role grows that little bit more and gets that little bit more complex (although I will admit to being bias since I really like Julia)... and Joan Allen back as Pamela Landy from the previous movie.

Although, just on casting for a second... I don't know if it was just another casualty of the shaky camera work or what... but having Tom Gallop and Corey Johnson both playing the Seconds in Command to Pamela's character and the new CIA character respectively got a little confusing because they're VERY similar looking... or, like I said, with the camera work they seemed to be... so I wasn't sure a couple of times whether it was just one character who kept "changing sides" so to speak or what...

It was also nice that they worked in the conversation that Bourne has with Landy at the end of the second movie as part of the plot in this one. Although, having said that, I think they possibly took some artistic liberties when they redid the scene... I don't think it plays out exactly the same... and from memory it looked like Summer the first time around, whereas this time around the movie takes place in Winter.

There was also a scene with Julia's character that very deliberately echoes a scene with Franka Potente from the first movie. And there was a scene right at the very end of the movie that echoes one from the beginning of the first.

I do hope that they actually leave the franchise alone now... Jason Bourne has done his thing, he's come full circle and this would be the point to put him away and leave him where he is. Only time will tell I guess.

I'm actually eager to see this again when it comes out on DVD (well, you know, other than the fact that I need to get it since I already have the first two), if only because all that wanky camera shake action is a lot easier to see when it's on the small screen.

And for the record, I would have scored this movie about a 9, but I had to take a couple of points off for the camera shake.

yani's rating: 2 assets out of 5