The Bourne Ultimatum opened here today, and I've just seen it.
And it's bloody good.
The third (and presumably final) instalment picks up the story in Moscow with Bourne on the run from the police. Shortly afterwards, he reads an article about himself and something called Operation Blackbriar in an English newspaper, and sets off for London to track down the reporter and find the name of his source.
But the CIA is after him as well, and the hunt follows Bourne through Europe, North Africa and ultimately to New York as he tries to find out who he really is and to finally stop running.
An excellent cast - Matt Damon, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Julia Stiles, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney - and non-stop (and I mean non-stop) action makes this unmissable.
Having read the books by the presumably undead Robert Ludlum (who apparently continues to publish some years after his reported demise) I was disappointed that the movies diverged so far from the originals, retaining only the character name and partial backstory.
On a historical note, there was a mini-series in 1983 that starred Richard Chamberlain as Bourne, with Jaclyn Smith as Marie, that was far more faithful. Nowhere near as exciting, though.
See it, find a way to watch all three back to back, then read the books.
James Bond needs to watch his back, I think...
2 comments:
I saw the film today. I agree that it was very good. I loved the fight scenes and Bourne's unrelenting ingenuity.
It was also good to watch the scene at Waterloo Station in London as I go there quite often, and I felt like I could have been there.
Yeah - I bet next time you go you'll be looking for the sniper nest and people with earphones - I know I would.
And I can't get Moby's 'Extreme Ways' out of my head...
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