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? No spoilers. )
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? No spoilers. )
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Quick question. I've watched the first two, but it was ages ago and I remember the basic premise but not the details of the story. Would I be able to follow this one anyway?
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And yeah, I think you'd be mostly fine following this one - the main thrust of the movie is self-contained enough (as long as you can keep all the intrigue straight! Which I think is easier in this movie than it was in Supremacy). However, a lot of the details and visual references - part of what makes the movie so fabulous - likely won't make as much sense (or have as much impact, obviously) without the previous movies fresh in mind.
But that's what re-watching is for!
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WELCOME. :D
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And I never would have banked on falling in love with this franchise at all, so I can understand those who have no interest in it - that was me not too long ago. :)
I had zero reaction to Identity when it came out, and had to be dragged against my will to Supremacy.
Something about what Greengrass did with that film drove me mad with curiosity, and I had to view it several times before figuring out what that was. But I won't bore you with the details of my conversion. ;)
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Yeah, the way a fight feels is honestly more important to me than whether I can follow every punch. I dug the action in Begins, for example (since I know it comes under a lot of scrutiny), because it fit what a Batman attack was supposed to be: unexpected, furiously fast, and disorienting. Same sitch with Bourne.
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Yes, the shaky cam. I love the action scenes and I love how the camera is right there and practically a participant in the fights. I loved the bits where you can tell the cameraman is running full-tilt and the motion blurs so the audience feels like they're running right behind the actors.
However, that's for action scenes. Even relatively short shots are fine. But I was annoyed at best and physically got dizzy at worst during the sitting-and-talking bits (particularly Landy and Vonen's discussion in the restaurant) and for this reason - your head doesn't shake as much as your hands when you're sitting still. So no, that is not how the world looks through human eyes during a conversation, that is how the world looks through a camera ( ... )
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With the budget Ultimatum must have had, Greengrass could've sprung for even one Steadicam. Hell, he could've put the camera on a chair or something. You could easily film a conversation between two people or a zoom-in/zoom-out long shot while resting the camera on a chair or table.
I can understand how the "POV" camera-work breaks down for you during dialogue sequences - but the fact that Greengrass deliberately chose not to use static shots there (when as you pointed out, he had every option to) further convinces me that there's a reason behind his madness. For one thing, I suspect it might have been too jarring of a style-break - to have random steadicam shots in the middle of this incredibly organic, "organized mess" type of framing. Also, I think the way he filmed conversations was in keeping with the whole feeling of unease that pervades the calm moments. The disquiet between two people.
In the books, ( ... )
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And that all the mirrored moments (cafeteria, hair cut/dye) don't bring him closer to Nicky, but drive him away. Beautiful contrast.
I am a mean, petty fangirl, I admit it freely. My inner shipper just pointed out that the bar Jason and Marie were in during Identity was a heck of a lot classier than the hole-in-a-wall diner he took Nicky to. That place was downright trashy. Good to know our hero had is priorities in order, eh?
The haircut scene just made me want to cry. As soon as Nicky looked up and Bourne saw the short black hair, you could just see his heart breaking all over again.
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*deep breath*
the fact that he hasn't had a wardrobe change since Marie died strikes me as rather symbolic. Y'know, black as the color of mourning, and all that.
I hadn't thought of that, and I see what you mean, but I don't see Bourne as a person whose Treadstone-ingrained instincts would let him do anything that would detract from his survival/completion of the mission no matter how symbolic it was. Wearing all black just means that he'd be easier to spot by surveillance cameras, snipers, or tailing agents. Book-Bourne wore all-black on occasion, but only when he was operating at night - in other words, whatever helped him blend into his surroundings, be it secret agent couture or civilian drab. Maybe that's why I'm nitpicking at this point - I'm trying to reconcile bookverse and movieverse.
Completely immaterial to my opinion, of course, is that Matt looks great with color. *g* He wore even that moth-eaten orange sweater quite stylishly...okay, so he looks awesome in black too. Shut up.
Ultimately, I ( ... )
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Matt Damon is the perfect Bourne - his face is so expressive in such small ways. I also like Bourne not being a manslut like most of the spy boys of fiction.
I agree with you about shakycam, though I watched Ultimatum in the front row which gave me a decent headache - and my friend got serious motion sickness.
If you really like the cleanly tied stuff, I should ask if you've ever seen Gattaca? Possibly my favourite of the perfect movies, where everything is foreshadowed and followed up on. Also, dystopic, which makes me happy.
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Totally. One day, it hit me that 80% of Supremacy's running time is sans dialogue (coming from Jason, at least) - and yet I'm never in the dark with the guy. Credit goes directly to Damon. He plays Bourne so quiet and truthful - which just makes his arse-kickery stand out all the more.
I should ask if you've ever seen Gattaca?
Oh, yes I have - and quite recently, too. Shocked by how good it was. Dystopian sci-fi is right up my alley, and by the end, I was angry I'd never heard of the film before. As in, who swept this thing so far under the radar? Punishment's in order.
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Great minds.
Gattaca remains my favourite movie, and I think it will be for some time.
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