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Parents' Guide to

The Bourne Ultimatum

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Excellent, smart spy thriller for mature teens and up.

Movie PG-13 2007 115 minutes
The Bourne Ultimatum Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 11 parent reviews

Chance M.
Chance M. Adult
February 20, 2017
age 15+

WOW!!!!!

That basically sums it all up. It was perfect, The violence was more than the previous and just a bit more brutal with choking,stabbing,shooting,etc... This is without a doubt the best film you will ever watch. But then again the violence is constant and outragous with many scenes where people are brutally killed but then again that is what made the bourne films all so good. But bourne isn't that great of a role model here. He is more driven to bring the fight to them instead of just staying out. But still then again we are watching an action movie so if you say to brutal the go watch something not so violent. But back to the the point this movie made you feel like you were there. It is easily the best of the series but if you have younger audiences you might want to have them watch the bourne identity instead, this one being a bit to violent
eliazer
eliazer Adult
December 11, 2016
age 18+

Violent and still contains a lot of profanity and too many uses of Our Lord's name in vain and blasphemies.

This Movie is really well made it is very violent. including a choking scene with a towel. Unfortunately it has great Disappointments: I has way too many profanities, some blasphemies which 1 is more than enough and way way and to many uses of Our Lord's name in vain.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM -- the very smart third film in the Bourne series -- super-spy-assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) finally gets some answers. In a plot that resembles Robocop meets Manchurian Candidate, Bourne seeks not only his identity, but also the individuals responsible for both his loss of memory and extraordinary killing skills. His search leads him from Torino to Paris, London to Tangier, and then on to Manhattan, each city yielding a piece of Bourne's puzzle. His hunters this time include the CIA's Deputy Director Vosen (David Strathairn) and others behind the scenes, who use all manner of astounding surveillance technology as well as "assets," or killers trained like Bourne. No longer a brutal instrument of the government, eliminating "targets" for unknown reasons, Bourne now becomes a moral center, a remarkably resilient one at that. Again and again, he rises from crashes and fights, like the Terminator, ever in motion, resolved to find his secret-agency "maker."

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11 ):
Kids say (48 ):

The film's action is stunning (fast, visceral, stylized), and the consequences deadly. When he learns that a London Guardian reporter, Ross (Paddy Considine), has stumbled onto Blackbriar, Bourne makes contact, then directs his every step by cell phone, negotiating a crowded Waterloo Station and avoiding a CIA sniper. Given his deep sense of loss concerning Marie (killed in the last film), it's not surprising that Bourne shares a distrust of the CIA with two women, specialist Pam Landy (Joan Allen) and an agent, Nicky (Julia Stiles), who both helped to track Bourne in the previous films and now question Vosen's extreme measures. Nicky's understanding of Bourne may be the most poignant, as she watches him resolve a brilliantly edited chase scene in Tangier with an amazing fight against yet another "asset."

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

  • Does the violence in The Bourne Ultimatum ever feel over the top? Is it exciting or gruesome? Which do you think it's intended to be? Why?

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