 Review |
August 16th, 2007 |
Untitled Document
The Bourne Ultimatum
by lyle e davis
 Just as Sean Connery parlayed the brilliant spy-thriller writing of Ian Fleming into a permanent niche in movie history, so is Matt Damon parlaying the brilliant spy-thriller writing of Robert Ludlum into a permanent niche of his own.
No real worries about typecasting here either. Connery was able to go on beyond his James Bond character and prove he could handle other challenging roles and do them brilliantly . . . so, we think, will Matt Damon.
The latest in a three part series of Bourne films, The Bourne Ultimatum is well worth two or three times the price of a ticket to see. You'll be wrapped up in the action from the get-go . . . you'll be on the edge of your seats as you follow this action film that has been ratcheted up to a steady flow of scene after scene of car chases, smash-mouth fights between the good guy (Bourne) and the bad guys (our crafty governmental agents employed by the CIA).
Memo to CIA: Hey, guys (and gals) . . . Bourne is the good guy! Leave him alone! If you don't change your ways you'll just likely give governmental agencies a bad name! Try playing nice for a change.
The acting itself is generally low key . . . until danger threatens. Then Bourne turns into Superman in street clothes . . . able to leap across tall buildings in a single bound. Bourne is in search of himself . . . trying to discover how he became who he is, and why. Occasional flashbacks gives him glimpses, but only glimpses, of how it all came to be . . . until, finally, toward the end, the puzzle begins to sort itself out and he recovers his long lost memory. He even learns his real name.
Memory recovered equals time for another action sequence. Sure enough, here come the bad guys. And there's another deadly assassin assigned to terminate him. How will he ever escape? Or will he escape? Or is he doomed to expire and wind up in a morgue with a tag on his toe?
Spend the money and find out for yourself. This film is a winner and is both time and money well spent.
Rescue Dawn
by lyle e davis
There are several excellent films about the Vietnam War.
Rescue Dawn is not one of them.
Save your money.
It is an insipid, poorly written, predictable, sophomoric film about an American pilot, born in Germany, who, while on a bombing mission, was shot down over Laos. It is a docu-drama about Dieter Dengler, who escaped from a POW camp. The movie was so bad we couldn't stay long enough to watch what is billed as a remarkable rescue.
We left after 30 minutes. The US Government could properly be charged with cruel and inhumane punishment were they to show this film to Al Queda captives.
It's that bad.
Don't go.
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