Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is once again on the loose. After losing his love Marie in the second movie, he is now trying to uncover his past and find those who started it. Reporter Simon Ross (Paddy Considine) is investigating him and operation Blackbriar which is the newer version of Project Treadstone. The CIA team under Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) is tracking him looking for the source of his information. Bourne also wants Ross' source but they kill Ross. Bourne is able to retrieve Ross' notes. The CIA director forces Vosen to take Pam Landy (Joan Allen) on the team. Bourne reconnects with tech Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles).

Director Paul Greengrass does everything within his powers to amp up the thrills. The chase with Ross is terrific and very tense. The action is great. Even the control room is filled with energy. However the control room gives a diminishing return. It get a little bit repetitive. There is only so much that can be done with people looking at computer screens. Greengrass is known for his shaky camera work but this is going a little overboard. Sometimes, I lose some of the action. Other times, there is no real reason to do the shaky camera. He just needs to give me a few more quiet breaks so that I can catch a breather. On the acting side, there is only generally good work. It's yet another solid performance from Matt Damon and David Strathairn is a strong addition.

The Bourne films reach a devastating climax with this, the final film in the trilogy and also the best alongside SUPREMACY. Directed by Paul Greengrass, fast becoming a favourite with the likes of UNITED 93, as an action film this is as immediate and pulse-pounding as you could wish for. The director brings his trademark shaky-cam to the proceedings, not just in the various action sequences but all the way through the film, and it gives the viewer a kind of gritty realism previously unseen in cinema.

Of course, there's more to enjoy here than just the camera-work; on top of that, we get plenty of fantastic locations around the globe (ranging from London to Tangier, Italy to New York),some top-notch acting work from the cast members – Julia Stiles shines here after appearing somewhat lacklustre in the last two films; Joan Allen is terrific and David Strathairn makes for a superior bad guy. And it's so refreshing to see a film with an intelligent plot for a change – another reason why THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM is a far cry from people's usual ideas of what a 'Hollywood blockbuster' is.

As an action thriller, you'd hope for plenty of shooting, fights and chases, and they're here in abundance. The two highlights are the sweaty-palmed chase through the crowded streets (and rooftops) of Tangier, as Bourne faces off against an Arabic assassin in a battle to the death, and the sniper-at-Waterloo sequence which makes for riveting viewing. In between we get our hero battling enemies using his martial arts skills, bombs going off, a car chase and crash (it doesn't top the one at the end of THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, but then what could?) and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. Cinema really doesn't get any better than this – what a terrific climax to what has become a brilliant series of films!

Finally getting round to seeing the original Bourne film trilogy, after hearing nothing but good things, there hasn't been any regret watching them. Wasn't sure initially as to whether they'd be my cup of tea or not, hence why it took so long to see them, but that was not the case.

'The Bourne Identity' was a very pleasant surprise, giving a fairly well-worn genre a much needed freshness. It had its imperfections, but was a very solid and even very good film with much to recommend and introduced a cast-against-type Matt Damon in one of his best roles. 'The Bourne Supremacy' was an example of a sequel that was every bit as good as its predecessor, maybe lacking its freshness but also made a few improvements along the way. The original Bourne trilogy ends with 'The Bourne Ultimatum', which has been regarded often as the best of the three, cannot disagree.

Some of the hand-held shaky cam is used a little too excessively (epileptics be warned!) and the ending could have been a little less frenetic and confused and had more careful tying things together and explanation.

Visually, on the other hand, a vast majority of the time 'The Bourne Ultimatum' like its predecessors looks slick and stylish with even more breath-taking locations. There were many instances when the hand-held shaky cam did intensify the tense claustrophobia of the atmosphere and intensity to very good effect, never making things incomprehensible.

Like 'The Bourne Supremacy', the music score is even more dynamic, atmosphere enhancing and more layered this time round, while Paul Greengrass' drama-documentary style and background to his directing is used to full advantage. 'The Bourne Ultimatum' has the sharpest, most intelligent and subtle script of the three films, in a way that is just dazzling.

The story never lets go of its grip and never strains credibility or reality. It is a tense adrenaline rush throughout, with the best mix of exciting action, the best of it is absolutely thrilling, and meaty story-telling, with lots of emotion and characterisation meat, that develops Bourne the best of all three films. Paul Greengrass' directing style and his experience in drama-documentary is once again used to full advantage.

Matt Damon has really made the character of Bourne his own, at the time of 'The Bourne Identity' it was very much a cast-against-type role but now it is one of his best. Julia Stiles and particularly Joan Allen are marvellous, as is a suitably malevolent David Strathairn, and while the supporting cast are a little underused they all do uniformly sterling work (one would be very hard pressed to get a bad performance out of Albert Finney for example).

In conclusion, what a conclusion to the Bourne trilogy. 9/10 Bethany Cox