Picking up from where the last film left off, Jason's still looking for answers in The Bourne Ultimatum. Beware spoilers So, with his girlfriend still dead and Wade Abbott having topped himself, it seems just about everyone else is a target for a sniper bullet in the final film whether it's that coming from the baddies or a new government program, led by CIA bigwig Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and opposed by CIA fusspot Pam Landy (botoxed Joan Allen), just so the former doesn't have to get a decision from Washington every time and lose the chance and offing a suspect. Also in on the project is Vosen's boss, Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn, grumping about as usual). Early on, Guardian reporter Simon Ross (Paddy Considine) gets a tip on Operation Blackbriar, a term that is picked up instantly over the airwaves by Vosen's team and so they want to know more about him. What's it about? Who is his source for this? And once the camera's stopped moving about, will anyone care? Yes, when it comes to direction, a five-year-old could do better. It really is a case of "Let's just throw the camera around to hide all the joins and stop is from seeing a foot-chase or fist fight properly". I will say that some of the more tense scenes are quite well-handled, but then there are many directors out there who could do both those and the fight scenes, such as the original's director Doug Liman. Why didn't he do the sequels as well? Also in for the ride again is CIA computer geek Nicky (Julia Stiles). I'd like to think she gets bumped off, simply because she's one of the worst actresses I've ever seen. why does anyone employ her? she couldn't act her way out of a paper bag, even if she was hyperventilating into it. Amongst all this, Bourne's plan is to finally piece it all together about his origins of his life as a trained killer and the man behind the assassination program, Dr Hirsch (Albert Finney). However, I really can't see why any still hires Paul Greengrass as a director. Aside from the last 30 mins or so of United 93, he even managed to make a film about the 9/11 terrorist attack incredibly dull.

The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and has no problems with the print as they flit from the US to London to Madrid, etc, whether it's the bright outdoors or Vosen's dark CTU-like office. For the record, I'm watching on a Panasonic 37" Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player. The sound is in DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio, as well as DTS 5.1, and there's lots of gunshooting and fisticuffs to fill your speakers with, but while there's also no fault to be found there, it all feels let down in the light of what I had to write in the above section. The extras are as follows: Deleted/Alternate Scenes (12:22: Eight of them, broadcast in letterbox format and the first of them shows what you might see after the film ends, so it's nice to see that oneincluded here. Be Bourne Spy Training: Five movie clips with an aptitude test about how observant you are. It's an okay extra, as the questions change when you take a retest. Man on the Move: Behind the scenes on five aspects of the film - Jason Bourne on foot in five different countries (23:58), Rooftop Pursuit (5:39), Planning the Punches (4:59), Driving School (3:23) and New York Chase (10:46). Audio commentary from director Paul Greengrass. U-Control: More info about the Blackbriar Files, Bourne's Orientation (i.e. things that have happened to him around the time the option comes up, such as the fact that at the start of the film he's being pursued by the Russian police as a result of the car chase in the tunnel), some Picture-in-picture info and also info about Volkswagen, attributed to their respective scenes in the film. BD Live: Hook your Blu-ray player up online and I understand this takes you to Universal's online portal where you can view various trailers, but I can never get this function to work on other discs so haven't actually tried it with this one. The menu mixes footage from the CGI end credits with a short piece of Moby's "Extreme Ways" playing over and over. There are subtitles in English and many other languages. Chaptering is okay with 20 throughout the 115-minute running time, although a few more wouldn't hurt.

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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2010.

As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.

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