So I finally got around to seeing The Bourne Ultimatum during my vacation last week. Yes, I know it had been out almost a whole month, but when I saw its predecessor, The Bourne Supremacy, during its opening week in 2004, I had to contend with a completely unruly horde of theatergoers, including a mother of three who was eating pungent leftover stew out of a styrofoam container, and who spent half the movie giving money to her kids so they could play videogames in the lobby. (Yes, said children kept running into and out of the theater — usually during Supremacy’s most exciting scenes. Booo!) I vowed this time around I’d see Bourne in (relative) silence, even if I had to spend three weeks avoiding spoilers to do it.
Anyhow, like everyone else I’ve spoken to, I absolutely loved Ultimatum — was there a more thrilling flick all summer? — but for me, nothing topped the amazing fight sequence between Matt Damon’s Bourne (pictured, left) and Joey Ansah’s operative Desh (right). The sheer brutality and breakneck choreography of the scene left me gasping — from the first broken bathroom tile to Desh’s final, expiring breath. A quick Google search yielded an amusing interview with Ansah about the toll that the scene took on his body (click here to watch it), but I’m in full agreement: No matter how battered the two actors wound up, the results made it all worth while.
Would you agree the Bourne-Desh showdown was Ultimatum’s best moment? Or did some other scene strike your fancy? Just don’t tell me you didn’t like the movie — or that you ate Sunday night leftovers while you watched it.
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Oh, I totally agree. The scene between Bourne and Desh was by far one of the best scenes in the movie. The car accident at the end of the movie (reminiscent of the second one) was pretty awesome, too. Bourne is one bad a** dude. Who knew someone could survive all of those car accidents, not to mention, walk away from them?
LOVED the fight between Bourne and Desh, but my favorite scene/sequence, by far, was the train station sequence with Bourne trying to keep Paddy Considine’s journalist safe from the CIA operatives…ingenous and fantastic.
Bourne/Desh is second and for me third place goes to the very end, which I won’t spoil, but cleverly ties up the series all the way to its beginning.
Actually GeeMoney, the fact that Bourne could be in such brutal car accidents and walk away relatively unscathed was the ONE little teensy problem I had with the movie.
Waterloo sequence, all the way. Smart, kinetic and absolutely edge-of-the-seat stuff – everything Bourne’s about.
SPOILER ALERT
The Bourne/Desh sequence was awesome. I also loved the scene with Pamela Landry at the end where she helps Bourne (the coded address) and faxes the damning info about the bad guy. And Bourne surviving that building plunge – wow!
Gotta say I loved the part where he tricked Vosen into saying his name and then informed him that if he were in his office they’d been having the conversation face to face. I didn’t see the previews so for me it was a big shock!
Waterloo was the best, hands down. I’ve never seen a three-way chase scene like that before. And the way Bourne instructed him and took out other agents along the way was shocking. Loved the shoe tying part.
I don’t know why, but the Bourne movies just don’t do it for me. I love Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon (the whole cast, really). But I guess the movie takes itself just a bit too seriously for my tastes. Sometimes a movie needs a little more than fancy equipment, fancy action scenes, and fancy setups (and acting, for that matter). I do, however, agree that it’s better than most of the other action crap out there (Rush Hour 3, War, even Transformers). I’d see BU over any of those.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but let me just say that the smile that Julia Stiles gives at the end was fantastic.
I agree, the fight scene with Desh was amazing, and the Waterloo scene was just as thrilling.
The clever scene near the beginning in which Bourne and his contact continually avoid their pursuers by using different phones and constantly being on the move. That one or the end scene in the Hudson River with that great Moby song.
When he jumped through the window. I want the DVD now, just so I can see that scene again and again.
My favorite scene was when Bourne was giving Simon the reporter instructions in the train station. Not a lot of action, necessarily, but quite tense and thrilling nonetheless.
When Bourne smashes dude’s face with a book and then beats him up in a tiny bathroom! Awesome! Best Movie of The Summer!!!
My fav scene was actually the sequence before this of Desh hunting Nikki and Bourne tracking both of them. As it went by, minute by minute I kept getting more and more agitated (in a good way).
The great thing about the Bourne movies is you NEVER know, so part of me thought Desh was going to kill her because Jason wouldn’t get there in time.
SO suspenseful and I can imagine a logistical nightmare to shoot.
Oh man, I loved the chase scene in the parking garage, especially when he drove off the mf’ing roof! Now THAT’S superbad.
Seeing as I am purposely waiting for this one to come out on DVD (since seeing the second one in the theatre literally made me motion-sick), I have no favorite moment yet. But if it involves Matt Damon in a thrilling scene, I’ll call that one my favorite.
This is a fantastic interview by the way. This guy was really interesting!
I agree, Stef. The whole theater I was at clapped at that part. FTW
Best action scene EVER!
the entire bourne & desh scene, from nikki instictively breaking apart her phone as she walked for bourne to be able to track her direction when she knew desh was coming for her to the maybe, (15) minutes of SILENCE that was the chase… it was brilliantly directed & choreographed.
I will agree that nikki’s smile at the end was priceless.
The end. The perfect way to end a bad-A movie. I wanted to applaud it was so great.
I love the whole sequence in London. When he is hiding throughout the Waterloo Station I was on the edge of my seat.
I loved that fight scene and our audience all gasped/groaned/clapped when the book was jammed in the throat…awesome..
I really liked the ‘fake out’ scene where Landy lures her boss out of the office, then Bourne breaks into the safe and tells the boss he’d be talking to him face to face – but the commericals and trailers RUINED the surprise…still our audience gave it a good reaction…woulda been better if we hadn’t known about it ahead of time, tho…
The scene leading up to the fight was fantastic & suspencefull. There is no hell worse then being in a theater with a TPT mother too stupid/cheap to spring for a babysitter.
The chase scene in the parking garage was great. My favorite part was when the guy says to Noah, “Uh..he just drove off the roof.”
SPOILER ALERT
In a movie with so much great action, the realization that the end of Bourne 2 occurs in the middle of Bourne 3 was pretty clever.
All the action scenes were thrilling (especially the one with Desh in Tangier), but my favorite moment in “Bourne Ultimatum” was Bourne’s conversation with Noah Voson (sp?) when they think he’s going to meet Landy and he’s standing in Voson’s office. Psych! I just turned to my husband and goggled for a moment.
Stef and Kirby – just saw your comments. I should read the whole trail before blabbing!
slezak, why didn’t you live blog the vmas? the non-blog is dreadful.
The showdown in the bathroom, worth the price of admission again and again. Good God, best scene ever.