Matt Damon

Re-rated after second viewing

Bourne dodges new, superior assassins as he searches for his unknown past while a government agent tries to track him down. In the follow up to 2002's The Bourne Identity and 2004's The Bourne Ultimatum.

The Ultimatum begins where Supremacy ends as MENTIONED in the picture. It was said Marie died in Januray of that year, making it continued on from the first one. I won't say to much about the end but it's an excellent end to this outstanding trilogy. From the moment that the opening title appeared, I knew we were in for a ride. Paul Greengrass has done it again. Everything we love from the previous Bourne films is here once again: the action, the dialogue, and of course the shaky camera. However for me, that last one was never a problem. I think it adds to the suspense. The Bourne series is for sure one of the best trilogies ever made and rightly so. Withough Paul Greengrasse's direction I don't think we would have though the series to be as good.

I thought Supremacy was excellent this is just another different type of action movie. This is FAR superior to many action films made in the 21st century. It's incredibly authentic and you almost feel like this could be happening now and that it's NOT just your average action movie at ALL!!! Greengrass has brought his documentry-like filmaking to this franchise and turned it into a real "authetic" franchise. For a start Greengrass keeps to what he knows, there is not CGI techniques, most of the driving is done by Damon himself, the car chases are not CGI enchanced, the editing is just superb and adds a whole new dimension to this film. WOW! The quick editing, keeps the viewer into the picture, there's no long-drawn out scenes, which has annoyed me in many blockbusters this summer. The film doesn't have a ton of scenes, CGI or irrelvant sequences in the picture. It's just what a action thriller. film SHOULD be.

There are some intelligent humor here and some fine suspense. The reactions to certain events will have you either laughing(in a good way) or cheering on. (or both) To all those people who object to hand-held camera technique, do you not see how authetic and realistic this is. In Supremacy and this one, you really get a sense of the action that you are watching on screen, rather than a motionless shot which can divert your attention else. A hand held shot keeps you watching and, as I said before makes you feel like your watching a documentry rather than your average hollywwod action film. I just love Greengrasse's technique is just superb!

The acting in this is once again brilliant. the latest addition to the cast, David Strathairn was perfect. I haven't seen much of of him before but I most certainly will catch more of his movies and most importantly, My Blueberry Nights. Julia Stiles is now an acomplised actress and not the teen idol that she was many years ago. I also loved Albert Finney's addition to the cast, played his character superbly as always. And Matt Damon, well....will always be known as Jason Bourne as Sean Connery will be known as James Bond. I hope to see more of his films later this year.

The sequences in this were just amazing. Being in a crowed cinema, after the SUPERB char chase, I heard the audience "gasp" after it finished, showing that the visuals were so powerful that you could not engage into the scene. I loved the fact you could hear the tires screaching and no dialogue was played whatsoever. This adds to the suspense. The Warterloo Station sequence was another brilliant piece of filmkaing. I know that the sequence qas filmed FOR real on a working day, which adds to the realism of the film. I know aswell that when the shots where fired one women actually thought it was gunshots and screamed. I don't think i can ever go into Waterloo station again and no think of that sequence

Overall Ultimatum is the best film that I've seen this year and possibly one of the best action thrillers in recent years. I will have to watch the film again on DVD as it such genuis filmaking. Had Greengrass not directed Supremacy and Ultimatum we would NOT be regarding it as one of the best trilogies in recent years.

9/10

*Highly recomended watch*

Syriana, starring Matt Damon George Clooney and Chris Cooper, reveals a possible honesty in foreign political corruption. Directed and written by Stephen Gaghan, the script for Syriana shows not only a smart storyline, but also how much the American and Arabian lives become almost obsessive by oil politics. Based on the non-fiction book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer, Syriana takes its viewer gradually through the birth and processes of terrorism; and tears at the roots from where all violence and corruption derives.

There are at least four separate stories that intertwine through the various locales, most intriguingly in a fictional Arab country where one of two sons is about to become the ruling emir. Which one is selected has direct bearing on a high-profile merger between two oil companies in Texas. There is another subplot focused on a Pakistani oil worker whose frustrations with the oil companies lead him toward drastic measures. None of these strands is very clear at the outset, nor how they are interrelated. For me this was the weakest plot in the film. Although it may seem realistic and true to life what those two characters did at the end of the movie, seemed a little unnecessary and pointless at that

This technique to coordinate a huge ensemble of captivating character actors woven tightly together in a complex story is helped enormously by the great camera shots and sound edited by Tim Squyres. However, there were too many narratives to grasp from the beginning and so many characters to keep track of. You have Damon?s character in beruit as an American advisor to the president there, I think? but again not sure. Chris Cooper?s character does something that I am not quite sure about, but most certainly, Clooney?s character is the bait in all of this. He is a former American CIA agent who worked in the Middle East for years witnessing the destruction of social injustice.-most certainly that was the better character development for me. That?s not to say the acting was not up to scratch, it worked well on all levels. Damon played his character well, going against his Bourne character for sure. Clooney played his character enormously well and deserved that Oscar.

Clooney, as I said before is the Bait in all of this. Witnessing terrible crimes in the 80?s he is certainly as easy target to put everything on as we see later on in the film. His character becomes investigated after being told to go after Prince Nasir. Certainly, being English, this film questions the moral values that we are told by our governments and what they are telling us or not to be exact. The film does not in anyway favour the Americans but instead we see both sides of the argument, how far countries will go to get oil and the drastic things that they will do. Eventually you realise that you are watching a game of pursuit of control and dominance of a globally needed commodity through several different avenues: a working family, several world governments bucking to stay or be the superpower, power struggles within a family, religion and interpretation of it, human survival, hierarchy succession, co-op operations, betrayal, life and death; how the world continues on and the probability of the whole thing to begin again - but this time, with different players in the same faction.

Overall Syriana is a stylish-polical thriller, which had some interesting moments. Nevertheless, what it lacks in the first half of the movie makes up into the following half. I would not recommend it to people who are easily put off by Political thrillers or who don?t want to be told the truth sp to speak. I did enjoy it, then there were parts I did not. Overall three and a half stars are what I shall give it.

When a CIA operation to purchase classified Russian documents is blown by a rival agent--who then shows up in the sleepy seaside village where Bourne (Damon) and Marie (Potente) have been living under assumed names--the pair collapse their lives and head out. Bourne, who promised retaliation should anyone from his former life attempt contact, is forced to once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive.

Wow! Greengrass has certainly made a perfect movie for me. With this documentry like filmaking-it adds a more realistic portrayal of Bourne and the events around him. What I loved was that Greengrass decided on doing the film without all the special effects-making the film miles better than the Bourne Identity(2002)



Matt Damon gives another great performance as Bourne and in this film, we see a more darker Bourne than the first one. Bourne is slowly becoming better than Bond for me as you feel sympathy for the character, despite him being the ant hero of the film. The supporting cast; Joan Allen, Franka Potene, Brian Cox and Joan Allen all make this one of the best action films of this decade. It's also in Total Film's 100 Greatest films of all time-and I can see why.



For me, the hand held camera works brilliantly on all levels. Despite some people who may not like it, it just wowed me. I loved the why the camera moves with the action, making it ncredibly fast paced.

Greengrasses' direction, for me, made Supremacy a whole new film. It didn't feel like a Hollywood blockbuster, but more artsey-fies-if you know what I mean. With the brilliant camera work, is why you feel that.

Once again we see a excellent car chase. What was even better than the first one was that Damon and the other guy drove the car. We were in the car with Bourne and experinced what he was feeling. What also worked was that there was no dialogue throgh the scene-making me watch even more.

The score is even better this time round. Moby's Extreme Way's song is heard on the end credits. Just brilliant.

I think I could talk about this film for ages. I can't tell you how much I love this franchise. This film has raised the bar for Action films for me. Excellent.

Bring on The Bourne Ultimatum!

HIGHLY RECOMENDED

8/10

Another great performance by Matt Damon.

NEW REVIEW

The Departed is based around the 2002 Chinese thriller, Infernal Affairs. The idea is that in the midst of a war between the police and organized crime, each side succeeds in placing a clever mole in the heart of the other camp. Gradually, each spy discovers the existence, but not the identity, of his opposite and, as the noose tightens and the tension ratchets past the cracking point, each man struggles furiously to unmask his rival before he himself is revealed and destroyed. In addition to its trio of A List names, "The Departed" showcases excellent work from a wide range of performers including, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Alec Baldwin.

This is Scorsese?s first film since his 2002 film Gangs of New York. For the first time, since his 1990 hit, Goodfellas, he returns to the mob-style routes and catholic symbolism and that gritty style that we often associate with this legendary director.
However this could be argued as being a ?re-make? of this 2001 hit. I didn?t find that to be the case. What Scorsese does well with this film is that he made it his own film. By adding additional scenes, making all the characters much more believable and almost likeable. Some of the key scenes within the Departed, which really made the film shine, included the scene in which the team meets the Chinese. What I love about this scene is the tension that surrounds it and the long shots used to show Dicaprio?s character?s whereabouts within the claustropbic atmosphere. The dialogue within this scene is electric as Nicholson?s character and the Chinese man almost play off each other. At certain points in the movie, there is very little dialogue given, with more emphasises on facial expression and awareness of space on the actors part.

Some of the performances that I enjoyed were Mark Walhberg, Nicholson, Dicaprio and Ray Winstone. It's great to see British actors do so well in Hollywood movies, particularly if they're not an A List actor like Winstone. Surprisingly Mark Walberg actually performed well and was convincing as a police officer for once in his career. His character seemed to depict the essence of the character well and at times the character?s sarcasm was incredibly funny.

However the best performance of the movie has to be Jack Nicholson. Some critics have argued that Nicholson practically played himself in this role. There was some improvisation on Nicholson?s part, which is probably why his role will be so memorable. Matt Damon for once wasn?t the usual hero like he plays in many films, which is why his performance was also great.

Overall The Departed works on all levels. Top-notch directing, acting and some brilliant scenery from Boston. Hopefully the academy will recognise Scorsese this time, as he most certainly deserves it. Highly recommend.