The Bourne Completion...?

The third in a popular series that could, (but probably shouldn't), continue, "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a lurching, herky-jerk, high-speed chase of a film that never fails to entertain, if not downright over stimulate.

"Ultimatum" is what a lot of summer audiences are looking for -- fast-paced action-packed fun that lasts longer than your free-refill, oil drum-sized Coca-Cola that let's face it, you probably won't refill.

Whether this film brings the story full circle remains to be seen, but it's a fun ride while it lasts -- and it'd be a damn shame to take too many rides on this roller coaster. CLICK...CLICK...CLICK..."Please keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times until we reach a complete stop at the station and thank you for riding The Bourneosity...!

Poor Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, "The Departed," "Good Will Hunting," "Mystic Pizza" -- that's right, I said "Mystic Pizza"). Still without most of his memories or raison detre (no accent Circonflexe, coding wouldn't allow it), he runs through the major cities of the world searching for the next piece of the puzzle. (At least he's super smart and can kick some @ss when he needs to.)

Bourne comes out of hiding to contact Simon Ross (Paddy Considine, "Hot Fuzz," "In America"), a journalist who's been tracking his story and collected information about Bourne and Treadstone, who trained him.

This is rather inconvenient for U.S. government official Noah Vosen (David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck," "L.A. Confidential"), who wants to start "Blackbriar," a new organization which would follow in Treadstone's footsteps.

Vosen sends agent Pamela Landy (Joan Allen is strong per usual, "The Ice Storm," "The Contender," "The Upside of Anger") to "quarterback" the search -- although not fully disclosing that he intends to silence Bourne and the reporter in order to protect the program's dark secrets. One of the last Treadstone assassins, Paz (Edgar Ramirez, "Domino"), is given orders to find and kill Bourne and Ross.

All Bourne has to do to finally find the answers to his murky past and get some well-deserved peace and quiet is outplay, outsmart and outlast the deadliest group of highly-trained agents and killers money can buy. With the help of a seemingly endless supply of hidden talents, and a renewed friendship with Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles, "O," "A Little Trip to Heaven") he's got a shot to make it back to where it all began.

Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Supremacy," "United 93") directs this thing, and it's a great piece of work. This is an adrenaline pumping (even in slow scenes somehow), cat and mouse game that never leaves you doubting Damon as bad @ss. It's all at once smart and obtainable, and leaves us wondering what we might do in a similar situation before ripping us to yet another exotic locale and desperate situation.

If you liked the first two films in the series, you should -- no, you have to, see "Ultimatum." (And you might just want to rent and review them before checking this out. Things move pretty fast.)