Action movies have become increasingly sophisticated but the advent of CGI hasn’t completely taken over. The summer’s best threequels took radically different approaches: The Bourne Ultimatum was almost completely shot in camera; Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was a bravura usage of CGI. Then there was the summer’s one fourquel, Live Free or Die Hard, which relied heavily on practical effects to underscore that its hero was an analog guy in a digital world.
The Bourne Ultimatum
Paul Greengrass does a masterful job of taking a more-than-usually-thoughtful script [courtesy of Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi] and breathing adrenaline charged life into it. If there’s a better director with the handheld camera, I’m sure I don’t know who that might be. Under Greengrass’ direction, the camera soars, zooms, twists and jerks in a concerto of controlled pandemonium. Even the still moments [of which there are not many] carry an almost electrical charge.
Taken strictly on a technical level, The Bourne Ultimatum is a masterpiece of action filmmaking – but it’s not all there is here. Indeed, every burst of action – every moment of silence – is informed by the need for Bourne to know everything: who he is/was; why he has all these incredible skills; whether the people he’s killed really needed to be killed.
In a film that has built on every second of the previous two, Bourne has learned that there are consequences to his unremembered actions that have affected him deeply.
He may not remember why he’s killed, but he remembers the faces [if not the names] of every person he’s killed. He remembers flashes of his training, but not how he got there – or even why he was there. Because of his past, his girlfriend, Marie [Franke Potente, seen only in photos and flashback] was killed; because of his past, he has tried to apologize, if not make amends. Now he needs to know what really happened to him and that will have consequences for him as much as for any others.
It’s this need to deal with the consequences of his actions – and the further consequences of his actions in pursuing that need – that elevate The Bourne Ultimatum, and the trilogy as a whole, beyond the level of mere entertainment. Certainly that need takes the Bourne Trilogy beyond the need to merely expose and reckon with the bad guys [whether they’re on “our side” or not…]. To this end, there could be no better casting than Matt Damon for the role of Jason Bourne.
Damon has a look that suggests normalcy – the normalcy of an Eagle Scout, or the boy next door. But he also has an ability to turn off his eyes, to look relentless and remorseless – something that, as he learns more about his past, is replaced by guilt, pain and a longing to be free of his past even as he remembers more of it. When he looks into the eyes of the asset that has been assigned to kill and asks if he even knows the reason he was given the kill order, Bourne’s anguish speaks volumes. This evolution only works because of Damon’s skill…
Even without the emotional undercurrents, the weight of consequences to actions, the depth of Bourne’s personal journey and the conceit of having a large portion of this film take place between the last two scenes of The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum would be an amazing ride. With those things, it is something beyond special.
Features include: an unusually detailed Audio Commentary by Paul Greengrass; Deleted Scenes; Man on the Move [how the film’s locations actually influenced filming]; Rooftop Pursuit [how state-of-the-art technology figured in the filming of one of the greatest action sequences ever made]; Planning the Punches [Matt Damon reveals his complicated fight training]; Driving School [Matt Damon training for the film’s stunt driving], and New York Chase [an insider’s tour of how the chase sequences were filmed].
Grade: The Bourne Ultimatum – A+
Grade: Features – A
Final Grade: A
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: 2-Disc Limited Edition
Gore Verbinski’s third Pirates movie had to do a lot of things: rescue Jack Sparrow [Johnny Depp]; find and destroy Davy Jones’ [Bill Nighy] heart; free Will Turner’s [Orlando Bloom] father [Stellan Skarsgard] from the crew of the Flying Dutchman; convene a gathering of the pirate Brotherhood; free a goddess [Noemie Harris]from her human form; unite lovers Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann [Keira Knightley], and introduce Sparrow’s father [Keith Richards] – among other things.For those reasons, the film may be excused its 169-minute running time.
Let’s face it, there were a lot of loose ends to tie up [and hints for a possible fourth movie to seed]. Somehow, in the midst of all these elements, we also got some terrific performances from the entire [enormous] cast – which grew to include Chow Yun Fat’s Sao Feng, Richards’ Captain Teague and the other members of the Pirate Lords of the Brethern Court.Maybe it’s because I’ve always loved pirate movies, but I never found any of the trilogy to be too long. I’ll admit that they could have been tightened up a bit, but I loved all the odd bits that others wished were gone.
The series’ wealth of details is what gave me the most pure enjoyment.I’m dispensing with a plot synopsis for two reasons: there’s so much plot it would take a good ten thousand words to even begin to approximate the goings on in this film. The big action set pieces have small grace notes of character and relationships sprinkled liberally throughout. At no point do we ever feel like we’re suffering from information overload. And, hey! There’s even a unique new use for an undead monkey! How can you not love that?
As for Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp plays him with more focus and determination than in Dead Man’s Chest. This time, the fey pirate is scheming and conniving for different reasons than before – much more personal reasons! There’s more of an edge to him – and edge that is blunted only by an encounter with his father [Keith Richards, excellent in a pivotal cameo]. Plus, there’s even a few moments where he becomes genuinely unselfish – without being the slightest bit out of character.
Features include: Disc One: Bloopers of the Caribbean; Disc Two: Keith and the Captain: On set With Johnny and the Rock Legend; Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom; The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer; Deleted Scenes; The World of Chow Yun-Fat; Masters of Design [James Byrkit: Sao Feng’s Map; Crash McCreery: The Cursed Crew; Rich Heinrichs: Singapore; Penny Rose: Teague’s Costume; Kris Peck: The Code Book]; Hoisting The Colours, and Inside The Brethren Court. [Lack of an Audio Commentary costs the Features a full grade.]Grade: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – B+Grade: Features – B+
Final Grade: B+
Live Free or Die Hard – Unrated Widescreen Edition
As I wrote when Live Free or die Hard was released: John McClane [Bruce Willis] is back and he’s still not terribly thrilled about it. In the best pure action flick of the summer, McClane is stuck with trying to prevent a fire sale – a systematic shut down of transportation, finances and utilities – nationwide! All he has for help is a scared computer geek who inadvertently supplied the villains with a piece of code that makes accessing a key location possible. And you thought you were having a bad day…!The reason for the film’s success was simple: we always want the guy who stumbles into trouble to stumble out of it.
In the case of McLane, there is a an extra layer of relatibility that comes from his wondering how it is that he always seems to find himself in these jams – well, that and his acceptance, however surly, of being “that guy…” … the one who steps up because there’s no one else around who will.This time around, he’s both helped and hindered by a computer hacker [Justin Long] who’s unintentionally provided a key piece of a puzzle that allows a disgruntled former government worker [Timothy Olyphant] to shut down those previously mentioned parts of the national infrastructure: transportation, finances and utilities. Further complications are provided by the villain’s beautiful but deadly right hand person [Maggie Q], and another top flight hacker,
The Warlock [Kevin smith] and the presence of McClane’s estranged daughter [Grindhouse’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead]While there are a couple of prodigious CG effects [in the interest of safety – and an inability to shut down a major throughfare] – the vast majority of the effects are shot, in camera, practically [killing a choper with a car? Yup. A fight scene in a dangling SUV? Yup. Etc.]. Coupled with Willis’ trademark dry, laconic performance and some exceedingly fine sarcasm from Long, Winstead and Smith, they give the film a layer of realism that a lot of action flicks lose right out of the gate because of reliance on CG.
Features include: Disc One: The Theatrical and Unrated Versions of the film; Audio Commentary by Willis, director Len Wiseman, and editor Nicolas Toth [discussing shooting the film they wanted to shoot and what makes a film PG-13 or R]; Analog Hero in a Digital Age: The Making of Live Free or Die Hard; Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherf******!; Music Video: Die Hard by Guyz Nite; Behind the Scenes With Guyz Nite; Fox Movie Channel Presents Fox Legacy, and the Theatrical Trailer.
Grade: Live Free or Die Hard – A+
Grade: Features – B+Final Grade: A-