Paul Greengrass is the god of Bourne.
By happy coincidence, the tiny cinema up here in Mammoth actually kicked out one of its two running movies for The Bourne Ultimatum.
Of course, like the wind, I snatched a matinee viewing. And. I am going to start posing ultimatums myself here. Does a smarter action movie exist?
The critics have it right, for once. I wouldn't go so far as to call this trilogy perfect, but it's one of the few that has succeeded at bettering itself with each entry - by leaps and bounds. I say this still in the throes of my love affair with Supremacy.
Greengrass is officially one of my favorite directors. I want to beat (okay, gently discipline) the people who whine and complain about the "shakicam" style he employs. It is not some lazy technique to up the "omgexcitement!1" factor; it is what the world looks like through human eyes. In this case, Bourne's.
And that's part of the genius: every split second of frame has significance - deals out a particular piece of information. Because Jason is a master at picking out what others miss in the chaos. His world is a muddy merging of past and present, information colliding and corresponding. Not just talking about his nightmares/flashbacks, either. There are some wonderful mirrors set up in this film that reference back to the previous two, and they're not only for the audience's benefit. They're for Bourne's. It's that rare case of the style serving the story.
Matt Damon himself needs some of the credit here, too. He plays the role so understated; it makes the moments when he uncoils all the more intense. And just as in Supremacy, I love how close I can feel to the main character when he barely speaks.
Also: not enough can be said about those quiet moments. They're so. utterly. quiet. Once again, the emotion is handled without any assistance - just the silence, causing us to hang off every word. (Side note: God bless the filmmakers for leaving Bourne a one-woman man. "Marie would have helped me remember their names." OMG. *heart*)
Please, somebody trash this film for me. I cannot seem to see past my crazy amount of lurve at the moment. There must be a flaw somewhere. It's blinding meeee!
Of course, like the wind, I snatched a matinee viewing. And. I am going to start posing ultimatums myself here. Does a smarter action movie exist?
The critics have it right, for once. I wouldn't go so far as to call this trilogy perfect, but it's one of the few that has succeeded at bettering itself with each entry - by leaps and bounds. I say this still in the throes of my love affair with Supremacy.
Greengrass is officially one of my favorite directors. I want to beat (okay, gently discipline) the people who whine and complain about the "shakicam" style he employs. It is not some lazy technique to up the "omgexcitement!1" factor; it is what the world looks like through human eyes. In this case, Bourne's.
And that's part of the genius: every split second of frame has significance - deals out a particular piece of information. Because Jason is a master at picking out what others miss in the chaos. His world is a muddy merging of past and present, information colliding and corresponding. Not just talking about his nightmares/flashbacks, either. There are some wonderful mirrors set up in this film that reference back to the previous two, and they're not only for the audience's benefit. They're for Bourne's. It's that rare case of the style serving the story.
Matt Damon himself needs some of the credit here, too. He plays the role so understated; it makes the moments when he uncoils all the more intense. And just as in Supremacy, I love how close I can feel to the main character when he barely speaks.
Also: not enough can be said about those quiet moments. They're so. utterly. quiet. Once again, the emotion is handled without any assistance - just the silence, causing us to hang off every word. (Side note: God bless the filmmakers for leaving Bourne a one-woman man. "Marie would have helped me remember their names." OMG. *heart*)
Please, somebody trash this film for me. I cannot seem to see past my crazy amount of lurve at the moment. There must be a flaw somewhere. It's blinding meeee!