The Bourne Ultimatum (PG-13)
Bourne comes home, full-speed. Best yet.
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- Studio: Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures
- Directed By: Paul Greengrass
- Cast: David Strathairn
- Running Time: 115 minutes
- Release Date: 08/02/2007
- Video/DVD Release Date: 12/11/2007
- Genre: Thriller
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- MPAA Explanation: violence and intense sequences of action.
Parents need to know
Families can talk about Bourne's sense of betrayal: How does he come to see himself as a tool, created and used by the CIA, and how does his moral sense lead him to challenge his "employers"? Why might it be significant that Bourne is helped by the two women agents, who both question their boss' efforts to cover up the secret program? How does Bourne's amnesia make him different from most other, very self-secure action heroes? They could also discuss action movies in general, and talk about what makes a good one.
Message
Social Behavior:
Bourne is singularly moral-minded; CIA agents and other killers are deadly, calculating, and cold.
Consumerism:
Vespa motorbike.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
In flashbacks, Bourne and another man appear to be sedated.
Violence
Bourne first appears limping and being chased aboard a moving train; he jumps off, finds a hospital, trails blood everywhere, washes his bloody hands, self-injects a needle full of painkiller, hits one officer and holds his gun on another. Flashbacks throughout show young Bourne's torture (hooded figures, waterboarding, frantic camerawork and dissolves), refer to his girlfriend's murder ("shot in the head"). Scene in morgue shows corpse. Violent acts -- shown in chaotic camerawork and editing -- include explosions (preceded by bomb-making), punching, kicking, flipping, leaping, falling, crashing through a window, car-crashing and -screeching, shooting (by snipers and face-to-face), bone-breaking, stabbing.
Sex
In subjective flashbacks, Bourne tenderly kisses Maria (his dead girlfriend), once underwater, as she floats away.
Language
Several uses of "s--t" and "damn," repeated uses of "hell" in frustration (e.g., "What the hell's going on here?").
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs
Is it any good?
Bourne's quest leads him to ugly truths, about himself and the behavior-modifying experiment that created him. As his memory returns, he has flashbacks of his training, including torture. The film goes on to show that Bourne once believed he was doing the right thing, that he would "save American lives" by giving himself "to the program." When he finally finds himself, he sees he must determine his own motivations, not believe in someone else's.
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