flere-imsaho
08-03-2007, 08:53 AM
...just picked up very good reviews in the New York Times (http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/movies/03bour.html?pagewanted=print) and The Onion's AV Club (http://www.avclub.com/content/cinema/the_bourne_ultimatum) (the two usual places I go for reviews that usually jibe with my sensibilities).
Some bits:
NYT:
Their sights set far beyond the usual genre coordinates, the three Bourne movies drill into your psyche as well as into your body. They’re unusually smart works of industrial entertainment, with action choreography that’s as well considered as the direction. Doug Liman held the reins on the first movie, with Paul Greengrass taking over for the second and third installments. And while the two men take different approaches to similar material (the more formally bold Mr. Greengrass shatters movie space like glass), each embraces an ethos that’s at odds with the no pain, no gain, no brain mind-set that characterizes too many such flicks. Namely remorse: in these movies, you don’t just feel Bourne’s hurt, you feel the hurt of everyone he kills.
AV Club (The Onion):
For a major Hollywood star, Matt Damon doesn't seem to care much about ingratiating himself to the audience. After getting his "love me, love me, love me" performance out of the way with Good Will Hunting, Damon has become a master of tragic self-effacement, gravitating toward characters whose true selves are masked by an impenetrably stoic veneer. For all his talent for imitation, Damon's Mr. Ripley was a blank slate, waiting for someone else's more vibrant personality to sketch on the empty canvas. 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, they've zagged while the rest have zigged, and they've succeeded in bringing the genre back down to earth.
Now, I don't typically "look forward" to movies all that much. The last I did were the LOTR movies, but that was born more out of having been a long-time fan of the books, etc....
But I've found myself looking forward to this movie quite a bit since I caught the first two re-run on consecutive nights on cable a few months ago. I'm not sure what grabs me so much about this series, but part of me thinks it's the same reasons that I liked Casino Royale so much last year.
Anyway, since it so piqued my interest this morning, I thought I'd post and open up some space for folks to share their thoughts.
Some bits:
NYT:
Their sights set far beyond the usual genre coordinates, the three Bourne movies drill into your psyche as well as into your body. They’re unusually smart works of industrial entertainment, with action choreography that’s as well considered as the direction. Doug Liman held the reins on the first movie, with Paul Greengrass taking over for the second and third installments. And while the two men take different approaches to similar material (the more formally bold Mr. Greengrass shatters movie space like glass), each embraces an ethos that’s at odds with the no pain, no gain, no brain mind-set that characterizes too many such flicks. Namely remorse: in these movies, you don’t just feel Bourne’s hurt, you feel the hurt of everyone he kills.
AV Club (The Onion):
For a major Hollywood star, Matt Damon doesn't seem to care much about ingratiating himself to the audience. After getting his "love me, love me, love me" performance out of the way with Good Will Hunting, Damon has become a master of tragic self-effacement, gravitating toward characters whose true selves are masked by an impenetrably stoic veneer. For all his talent for imitation, Damon's Mr. Ripley was a blank slate, waiting for someone else's more vibrant personality to sketch on the empty canvas. 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, they've zagged while the rest have zigged, and they've succeeded in bringing the genre back down to earth.
Now, I don't typically "look forward" to movies all that much. The last I did were the LOTR movies, but that was born more out of having been a long-time fan of the books, etc....
But I've found myself looking forward to this movie quite a bit since I caught the first two re-run on consecutive nights on cable a few months ago. I'm not sure what grabs me so much about this series, but part of me thinks it's the same reasons that I liked Casino Royale so much last year.
Anyway, since it so piqued my interest this morning, I thought I'd post and open up some space for folks to share their thoughts.