The Bourne Ultimatum 2007

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A hell of a show. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: Damon lends an air of conscious integrity to the part, a quality of reflective introspection that acts as an amazingly effective ballast against the complete implausibility of his continued survival. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: This adrenaline-charged, bullet-riddled sprint from Moscow to New York is the best of the Bourne films, a politically-charged actioner with chases, brawls, shootouts and dry wit that never relies on one-liners. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: It's so expertly crafted and the cast is so superb that The Bourne Ultimatum exceeds all expectations of the genre. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Greengrass somehow manages to keep the pace aerobically snappy for almost two hours, never letting it lag. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Greengrass comes full circle from the War on Terror film that bit its tongue to the popcorn flick that speaks volumes. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: For Jason Bourne, who rises and rises again in this fantastically kinetic, propulsive film, resurrection is the name of the game, just as it is for franchises. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Not only far and away this summer's best three-peat, it's a pulse-pounding peak to Matt Damon's spy trilogy. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A knockout roller-coaster ride custom-made for adrenaline junkies, it's easily the savviest and most satisfying spy movie in years, besting both of its preceding Bournes -- Identity and Supremacy. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Paul Greengrass has to keep it moving all the time, putting Matt Damon through endless car and foot chases and taking to a dizzying extreme his signature style of handheld camera, lurching zooms, whiplash pans, and second-to-second editing. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Damon's minimalist style is key to why the Bourne movies have become an oasis from other blockbuster action fare; freed from the bells and whistles of computer-generated effects...and they've succeeded in bringing the genre back down to earth. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: Damon, however, is perfect. He doesn't say a lot, but he's able to suggest the turmoil and mistrust of a man with no memory. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The Bourne series makes for an unusual action franchise. All the movies are exhilarating, including the third installment, The Bourne Ultimatum, which opens tonight and leaves a bruise. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: I must have breathed during The Bourne Ultimatum because I didn't pass out in my seat -- but I'm sure those were bruises on my throat. Gripping? Yes. Read more

Tom Charity, CNN.com: Bourne -- or whatever his name really is -- is such a resourceful and reckless agent of chaos, we thrill to him despite the fact that he's officially a non-entity. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Here, as in that other new-style spy movie Casino Royale, everything is hard and fast and brutal and, above all, straight-faced. No throwaway lines, no puns. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: The first by Doug Liman was best, but the second and third by Greengrass come close because of a strict consistency in tone and talent. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Insistent, ingenious and slammed full of five heart attacks worth of action, The Bourne Ultimatum may be the best conspiracy action-thriller ever made, a beautifully crafted mix of mayhem, well-earned paranoia and unlikely introspection. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The Bourne Ultimatum is a spectacular windup toy of a thriller -- a contraption made by an artist. Read more

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com: Watching The Bourne Ultimatum is like being strapped to a vibrating bed set on high for two hours in a cheap motel. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: The third chapter in the globe-trotting -- more like globe-speeding, actually -- saga of Jason Bourne, a.k.a. the Spy With No Memory, is easily the best of the three. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The Bourne Ultimatum leaps, scampers, scraps and drives its way into the pantheon of all-time great action movies. Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: It's a 114-minute chase film, dashing through streets and rooftops of any number of international urban sprawls with Matt Damon's redoubtable Jason Bourne hot on the trail of -- himself. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Faster and, if possible, furiouser than its predecessors. Read more

Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News: From that first moment to the last of this peerlessly mounted action thriller, the chase never stops. Bourne's nerve never falters, or that of director Paul Greengrass, either. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Screenwriter Tony Gilroy, who's been around the block with Bourne on the first two pictures, juggles all of this to-ing and fro-ing with admirable precision. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: It's bravura filmmaking in the jittery, handheld, frenetically edited Paul Greengrass style. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The material is formulaic, but, of all the current action franchises, this one is the most enjoyable. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Fans of 24 will be amazed to find a hero who makes Jack Bauer seem like a study in sissydom. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Bursts with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it's finally done. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: This is a film about momentum, gravity, trajectory. It's a physics lesson wrapped up in an espionage thriller, and when director Greengrass yells 'Action!' he means it. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: When it comes to action, The Bourne Ultimatum trumps the summer's other offerings. While its stunts are no less preposterous than those in Live Free or Die Hard, what The Bourne Ultimatum offers is grittier and more visceral. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Ultimatum is a tribute to Bourne's determination, his driving skills, his intelligence in out-thinking his masters and especially his good luck. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: We've waited all summer for a wild ride to grab us with more than jolts. Now it's here. Hang on. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: A great action movie, exhilarating and neatly crafted, the kind of picture that will still look good 20 or 30 years from now. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A thoughtful, superior action movie. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Fresher, leaner, and faster than any action movie in years. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: This is a chase film, pushed to the fragmented limits of abstraction, that rattles and jolts and explodes like an intricately designed drum solo. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: While Ultimatum may be the lesser of the three Jason Bourne movies, it is only so because the bar set by its predecessors was so uncommonly high. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The battle is as long as it is ferocious, and in the audience I saw the movie with, nobody took a breath until it was over. Then they exhaled in a noise that exploded into a cheer. Read more

Ben Walters, Time Out: While the crunchy fights and unflagging pace ensure this delivers as genre spectacle, the muddy ethics also make for a pleasing contrast with standard-issue wham-bammery. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: The cat-and-mouse sequences in this film are revelatory -- they're why we go to the movies in the first place. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: His [Greengrass'] masterful direction of The Bourne Ultimatum makes this third installment unequivocally the summer's best 'threequel.' It also is easily the best action thriller of the year. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: The third and purportedly final installment in the mountingly exciting series is a pounding, pulsating thriller that provides an almost constant adrenaline surge for nearly two hours. Read more

Nathan Lee, Village Voice: [Ultimatum] flips the standard conspiracy thriller on its head. Greengrass gets there so deftly it's enough to make yours spin. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It's frenetic to the point of crazy while achieving a mark that barely exceeds mediocre. Read more