Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-10
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3

Amazon.co.uk Review
Here's a challenge: name one action blockbuster trilogy of the last ten years that's come close to matching the thrills and spills of the Bourne movies. Because this reviewer, and many others, can't. There's nothing that runs it even remotely close.

And it's ironic too, given that the franchise kicked off with its weakest instalment. The Bourne Identity finds the title character (played by Matt Damon) without knowledge of who he is, yet with a whole host of deadly skills, and for two thirds of its running time is a strong and enjoyable action thriller. A muddled last act spoils it slightly, but fortunately, it brought in enough to convince the studio to pony up for a sequel.

What a sequel it is, too. The Bourne Supremacy is an electric, pulse-pounding second episode, as Bourne this time is forced to confront his identity issues again, after being framed for a murder he didn't commit. It's a compulsive game of cat and mouse with some superb moments, and it leaves you salivating for the concluding chapter.

That came in the shape of The Bourne Ultimatum, and this proves not only to be a terrific ending to the franchise, it's also the best of the three films. The word relentless barely does it justice, but in terms of direction, staging and draw, it simply has had no big screen blockbuster equal in some years.

The end result is a trilogy that diligently tells a well-structured story, and injects it with fascinating characters, amazing set pieces and immense rewatch value. The Ultimate Bourne Collection simply demands to be seen and rewarded. And a fourth chapter wouldn't do any harm, either… --Simon Brew

Synopsis
As The Bourne Identity begins, a man who may or may not be Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea and is hauled onto a fishing boat. When the ship's doctor examines the unconscious castaway, he discovers two bullet wounds and an implanted device that displays a Swiss bank account number. With nothing but this code, the amnesiac Bourne travels to Zurich and gains access to a safe-deposit box containing a gun, thousands of dollars in various currencies, and valid passports from numerous countries--each listing a different identity. Within minutes, Bourne is on the run from a seemingly ever-present agency, relying on language and fighting skills he didn't even know he possessed. Offering $20,000 for a ride to Paris, Bourne gains the reluctant help of the nomadic Marie (Franka Potente). Meanwhile, the shadowy organization, headed by a tough-talking bureaucrat (Chris Cooper), sends numerous assassins (including the Professor, played by Clive Owen) after Bourne and Marie. As their situation grows more perilous, the two strangers struggle to find out who Bourne really is and why they are being hunted.

The Bourne Supremacy re-enters the shadowy world of expert assassin Jason Bourne (Damon), who continues to find himself plagued by the splintered nightmares from his former life. The stakes are now even higher for the agent as he coolly maneuvers through the dangerous waters of international espionage-replete with CIA plots, turncoat agents and ever-shifting covert alliances-all the while hoping to find the truth behind his haunted memories and answers to his own fragmented past.

The Bourne Ultimatum: All he wanted was to disappear; instead, Jason Bourne is now hunted by the people who made him what he is - a legendary assassin. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was. Now, in the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future.

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Breathtaking Experience
It was in November 2007 when I saw "Bourne Ultimatum" in the theatre. It was more electrifying than the previous two in the series. It was only after a month that the triple DVD pack came out containing all three Bourne movies, and I purchased it at once. Watching all three movies in a row is also a wonderful experience and it may be seen that how the cinematography, editing and sound effects improve in each movie than its predecessor.
All three movies are full of breathtaking car chases, ultimate suspense that goes around the globe. At one moment you are in India and at the other you find yourself in Italy. From the narrow streets of Tangier to the snows of Russia, the chase for Bourne goes on and on until it ends in the busy avenues of New York, in the last movie. Though all three movies and its characters are wonderfully linked together, however, each movie brings new characters, locations and situations.
The movies are full of wonderful sound effects, cinematography and editing and it grips you so much that you feel yourself being chased as Jason Bourne.
All three DVDs are packed with extra features, including director's commentary, deleted scenes, and details about various chases of Bourne across the globe.
For fans of action and spy movies, this is a must purchase.

ONE OF THE BEST TRILOGIES AROUND
This is an excellent trilogy of films - keeps you on the edge of your seat no matter how many times you watch them - Matt Damon has to be one of the best actors of his generation - Fantastic films which we will still be watching in 20 years time. Buy and enjoy

Bourne To Be Wild
It took me about ten minutes to think up one of those "Bourne" puns, so please enjoy that one while it lasts. Ah, the Jason Bourne movies.; the franchise that apparently reinvigorated action movies with a semblance of substance, a fresh dimension to action sequences and persuaded Bond to go for a more gritty approach in "Casino Royale." This may all well be true, and as franchises go, Jason Bourne is better than most by a wide mark, but something tells me its still all just expensive flash with very little plot once you cut through all the convoluted storytelling techniques.

The Bourne Identity was, in my opinion, a highly overrated affair devoid of any originality and riddled with achingly obvious cliches and crass dialogue. I am one of the few to see it as a mostly dull, sometimes laughable plod through familiar amnesiac spy territory. It was so schematic in execution you can even break down the action into specific segments without breaking a sweat - the fight scene (silly), the car chase (boring), the shootout (uneventful). Sure Matt Damon fit quite snugly into the action man role while Chris Cooper and Franka Potente provided competent support, but it was just so routine. And that much lauded fight sequence was the most unintentionally hilarious thing in a film I saw that year. It always makes me laugh when people call it "an intelligent action movie." Why is this predictable romp found to be so intelligent? Because it sticks a bunch of suited thesps in an office in Langley and has them talk about covert ops and politics at intermittent intervals. Give me a break. That's not intelligent, that's just exposition. Done badly.

Thankfully Paul Greengrass took over helming duties from a limp Doug Liman and mixed things up a little with The Bourne Supremacy giving us one of those rare Hollywood offerings; a superior sequel. In every respect. The filming technique conjures memories of the Omaha beach opening sequence from "Saving Private Ryan," whilst the plot, though still unnecessarily and needlessly complicated (considering it's the exact same story as before), enjoys a much more heightened atmosphere of urgency and paranoia. It harks back to seventies conspiracy thrillers and pays-off very nicely, especially by bringing the incomparable Joan Allen on board and enlarging Brian Cox's role substantially. Supremacy contains some terrifically exciting action (all blueprinted from Identity but far more well executed) with the final car chase proving a nail bitter. Greengrass and screenwriter Tony Gilroy even throw in a shocking death near the very start of the film and an almost poignant resolution that allows Bourne to actually develop as a character. All over impressive genre filmmaking but, oooooh, with a conscience.

Greengrass reprises directing responsibilities again for The Bourne Ultimatum, the seemingly final adaptation of the never ending novel series. Now Ultimatum finds some great support actors with David Strathairn and Albert Finney (can't believe he's still alive), while Joan Allen makes a welcome return as does series regular Julia Stiles in a much enhanced role. The plot again is almost identical to the earlier instalments with only slight variations on the formula. There are winning set-pieces that stand-out as some of the finest examples of action film editing we are ever likely to see (deserving Oscars on the technical front), highlighting how much Greengrass is completely in control of the out of control events. It's all intense excitement for about an hour in until I realised something. Jason Bourne can't die. The filmmakers know this because the studio wants to keep the possibility open of yet another sequel. So it then becomes incredibly obvious that they need to keep on finding periphery characters to put in jeopardy so the central question then becomes; will Jason save them in time? It's a device the television show "24" has used many times and it works very well here, if only to signpost the inevitability of the upbeat ending. For such a moody looking movie there really isn't a moody enough outcome. Bourne is destined to die one day, surely that's the only way he can ever truly atone for his awful past. The acting is all top-notch as is the directing and stunts etc. but they have to come up with more original plotting if they are to do another instalment. There's only so many times Bourne can "go after the people who did this to me" before you think; "why doesn't he just nuke Langley and be done with it?" There's a thought - THE BOURNE URANIUM anyone? I'd pay to see that.

Anyway, the formula is proven and for the last two films at least it works well. Occasionally on the edge of your seat is better than Identity's slumber party set-pieces. The only criticism to be levelled directly at Supremacy and Ultimatum is that the action sequences do go on at excessive length, particularly that funny business in Spain on the rooftops with the washing line, but hey, now I'm just being picky.

Don't worry, it's not Bourne-ing! Ha, see what I did there? Go buy.