'BOURNE ULTIMATUM' THE ULTIMATE IN THRILLING ACTION.Byline: GLENN WHIPP WHIPP WhiteWater Head Impact Protection Project >FILM CRITIC A pulse-pounding, brain-rattling thriller that redefines the action genre, Paul Greengrass' "The Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. Ultimatum" is a landmark movie that is so astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. in its filmmaking prowess that you might not fully appreciate its expertise while you're watching it. Having your heart in your throat for two hours will do that to you. The movie can essentially be boiled down to three bravura bra·vu·ra n. 1. Music a. Brilliant technique or style in performance. b. A piece or passage that emphasizes a performer's virtuosity. 2. A showy manner or display. adj. 1. chase sequences that happen while our favorite amnesiac, black sheep of the black ops spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) pieces together his past on his way back to the Manhattan lab that made him. These scenes -- a cat-and-mouse pursuit through a jam-packed Waterloo Station where Bourne protects a journalist (Paddy Considine) from CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). assassins, a rooftop romp in Tangier and an earsplitting ear·split·ting adj. Loud and shrill enough to hurt the ears. See Synonyms at loud. Adj. 1. earsplitting - loud enough to cause (temporary) hearing loss deafening, thunderous, thundery , steel-grinding car chase through Manhattan -- are painstakingly plotted, expertly edited and marvelously explained. The spectacle is fantastic, but what elevates these sequences is the way Greengrass immerses you in the action. As Cronkite used to say back in the day: You are there. Bloodless blood·less adj. 1. Deficient in or lacking blood. 2. Pale and anemic in color: smiled with bloodless lips. 3. , egg-white-eating CIA operative Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) wants to kill Bourne, his accomplices and, basically, anyone in the vicinity of Bourne and his accomplices. Vosen talks about being the "sharp end of the stick." His black-ops agency can murder anyone, no red tape, no questions asked. Rogue assassins are called "assets," torture is sanctioned, innocent bystanders are disposable, mere collateral damage collateral damage Surgery A popular term for any undesired but unavoidable co-morbidity associated with a therapy–eg, chemotherapy-induced CD to the BM and GI tract as a side effect of destroying tumor cells . "You start down this path, where does it end?" agency internal investigator Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) asks. Vosen's retort? "It ends when we've won." All this makes "The Bourne Ultimatum" a companion piece to Greengrass' last film, "United 93." Here, Bourne, who volunteered for his job to "save American lives," comes after his superiors, angry that they've robbed him of his humanity and turned him into a killing machine for reasons that have little to do with America's security. It's a coming-home story for the 21st-century soldier, enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" in an action movie that is a masterpiece on every single level. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM - Four stars >PG-13: violence, intense action. >Starring: Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen. >Director: Paul Greengrass. >Running time: 1 hr. 51 min. >Playing: Area wide. >In a nutshell: A 21st-century soldier's story enveloped in an action thriller that astonishes on every level. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Matt Damon, as amnesiac agent and legendary assassin Jason Bourne, begins to finally piece together the hidden clues to his true identity. |
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