Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here.

I’m sitting in a narrow economy class seat on a Lufthansa flight into Frankfurt as I start this review. I was stressing about all the writing I have to get done while I’m in Prague this week, and I suddenly realized, “Oh, yeah, I have a laptop now. I should get some of that writing done now.” I know... it’s 2007. I’m late to the party. But I’ve always taken a sort of Luddite pride in the idea that I didn’t have to lug around a computer when I traveled. I liked being able to get in and out of a place fairly hassle-free. I’m the same guy that refused to get a cell phone until sometime mid-2003, so it’s not even just about the computer.

I think there’s something fundamentally old-fashioned about my attitude. I’m not quite the toothless geezer sitting on my porch yelling about “those kids and their new-fangled doodads”... at least, not yet. But part of me is resistant to the new. That’s certainly true with film as well. I’m a steadfast fan of the ‘70s, of bygone eras of film, and I love the thrill of discovering something that’s new to me, but that can’t be called “new” by any other definition. I particularly love it when I find some forgotten noir gem or, even better, a spy film I’ve never seen.

To me, the BOURNE films feel resolutely like they are of a different age. I think that’s part of the appeal. We’re so used to action films being all about the giant high-tech set pieces and the CGI and the preposterous scale that when the first film came out, it was like something throwing a glass of cold water on the audience. It was a shock to see someone pull off something so admirably low-tech, so basic, so stripped down to the elements. What’s even more shocking is that this series has now managed to pull that trick off three times in a row... and they seem to be getting better as they go.

When was the last time that happened?

Doug Liman certainly deserves the credit for starting the series the right way, but at this point, Paul Greengrass has become the primary architect of the BOURNE films, and I think that’s a very lucky thing, indeed. Greengrass has gotten so good at what he does that he could film me going to the DMV to renew my license and have people sitting on the edge of their seats as they watched it.

And if you were one of the people who complained about Greengrass and his use of “shaky-cam” on BOURNE SUPREMACY, I think you might be pleasantly surprised this time out. It’s still incredibly kinetic filmmaking, but it seems like he really listened to the problems people had last time, and he’s refined the style, giving shots a few extra seconds, allowing you a better chance at getting your bearings in the action. It’s not like he threw out his entire approach to shooting action... he’s just gotten better at it.

It feels appropriate to continue writing this sitting in a terminal, waiting to board my flight to Prague, since much of this movie takes place on the fly. Damon’s Jason Bourne is like a shark in the film... once he gets the scent of blood, nothing stops him in his pursuit of it. He’s constantly moving forward, desperate to learn the truth about himself, about who he was, how he was made, and why he is disconnected from the life he once led. That’s one of the things that makes the BOURNE films so identifiable... he’s not trying to save the world from crazy supervillains, and he’s not trying to find some treasure or do any of the things that normally fuel these big-ticket action films. He’s simply a man adrift, a guy who desperately wants to understand himself. Since the start of that first film, he’s been after one thing, and I like the way each event in the series so far seems to have weight. Bourne doesn’t just shrug things off with a punchline and a smile... he’s haunted by the death of Marie (Franka Potente) in the second film, and he’s haunted by his own lack of identity. He knows he’s a weapon, and that bothers him on a basic human level. Sure, it’s convenient that he can do anything, go anywhere, stop anyone... but there’s also something fundamentally terrifying about it.

As with the first two films, the supporting cast really elevates this material. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen both make strong returns to the series in this one, and David Strathairn shows up as a class-A megaprick, more lethal and slimy than Brian Cox in the second film or Chris Cooper in the first one. For my money, though, it’s Paddy Consadine who makes the most powerful impression this time around. He’s a reporter who has been piecing together Bourne’s story, attracting not only Bourne’s attention, but also that of the people that Bourne is trying to find.

What impressed me most this time is the pace of the film. It starts six weeks after the end of SUPREMACY, and it pretty much never lets up from the moment the film begins. This isn’t a standard Hollywood action film where you get a set piece, then a lot of exposition, then a set piece, then a lot of exposition. Yes, we learn a lot in this film, including the answers that Bourne’s been looking for since the beginning, but it’s all handled during the action, as part of the action, and the film feels like it’s always moving forward, always surging towards the next plot point, and the result is that you feel worn out by the end. You feel some degree of what Bourne himself is feeling. That’s great filmmaking, putting you in the skin of the main character in a smart, subtle way. By the time Jason Bourne ends up face to face with a majestically toad-like Albert Finney, you’re practically begging the filmmakers to take a breath.

I think the real proof of the impact that these films have is in the way the Bond series obviously took cues from the BOURNE series when they rebooted last year. This and BATMAN BEGINS both seemed to have informed the approach that Martin Campbell took to CASINO ROYALE, and I hope the producers of Bond continue to pay attention to the way things add up and matter over the course of the BOURNE series. Yes, we want our spies to be able to handle themselves in any fight, but we also want to know that they are human, and that what they do matters. Jason Bourne may end this film bruised and bloodied, in almost as bad a state as he was at the start of the first film, but he’s also found some grace, some answers, some degree of peace. It’s a rarity to see a series handled this well, and I hope Damon reconsiders his position that this is the absolute end of the series. As long as Tony Gilroy’s scripts continue to inspire performances and direction as good as this, I’ll follow Bourne anywhere in the world.

I’ll be back later today with my review of one of the first major films of the fall season that I’ve seen, but first, I’m going to take a walk around Prague and enjoy a bit of the late summer afternoon, jetlag be damned.

Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles