Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum
I am a fan of the Bourne series.
Every single one of the installments comes with a good cast. From Franka Potente in the first two films, to Joan Allen present in both the 'Supremacy' and 'Ultimatum', to Brian Cox, Albert Finney, Paddi Casadine, and of course, Daniel Bruehl, the Liman/Greengrass series delivers.
I was pleasantly surprised to see "Goodbye, Lenin"'s Daniel Bruehl in the 'Ultimatum.' He plays the very short part of Marie Kreutz' brother but is, in my view, nicely placed at the beginning of the film. It surely grabbed my full attention and interest. Even though Bruehl's presence is minimal, it does not disappoint. From Bruehl one moves to Paddy Casadine whom I last enjoyed seeing in 'In America' (2004).
And, let me not forget to mention the soundtrack. Moby's 'Extreme Measures' is perhaps the strongest choice of music that both Doug Liman and Paul Limegrass could have made when opting for the song to grace all three installments.
All in all, the Ultimatum is fast-paced and highly enjoyable. If you are anything like me and start getting anxious after sitting longer than 1:50 minutes, you will be just fine this time. The film lasts about 10 minutes under two hours and the last 12 minutes are, in my view, a convincing climax.
Watch and enjoy.
graph per imdb
Labels:
Daniel Bruehl,
Film Review,
Matt Damon,
Moby,
Paul Greengrass,
The Bourne series
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5 comments:
maybe i'm getting old or something, but the hand held camera work was shit. yes, it gives you a feeling of being there, up close and all, but really, does every shot have to be done like that? come on! the only steady shots were of the cities and buildings. and what's with the shots behind each of the actors' heads? were we supposed to feel like we were in the head (if not hair) of the actor speaking? grr. was unimpressed with the camera work and camera placement. but happy to see some german talent.
Hence my opening sentence and the revelatory, 'above average', average being the key noun.
The Bourne series seem to grasp the notion of a fallible hero's fast pace and the psychology behind a big urban space, i.e., Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Tangier, NYC, et al. It's more of an instinctive like, as a Euro person, it speaks to me.
But I concur, the back of the head is annoying and that's when I take out my phone, ignore my party, and text my peeps :-)
the first is, by far, the best.
I actually dug the ever-moving shots. You just feel like you're actually there.
hmm. i take it back. the Ultimatum is excellent!
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