Do you even know why you're supposed to kill me? Look at us. Look at what they make you give.

No 234 - The Bourne Ultimatum

Director - Paul Greengrass

Yes... we've reached Bourne Three, thus allowing me to start the blog on an EXCELLENT musical pun. Thank you.

Much in the same way that Bond always begins straight in the middle of the action, with a mission that's not been followed from the start, so to does this Bourne adventure begin straight in the middle of a pursuit.

You have to feel sorry for Bourne. All he wants is to live a quiet life and slowly piece his identity together and he's always being chased. It doesn't even matter how many shady government agencies he topples - he remains on the most wanted list of almost every police force in the world. So here he is - broken, battered and bruised - on the run from the police. Same old, same old. Somehow he escapes and he makes it to lovely old London.

So, what is it causing the shit to hit the fan this time? Its none other than Paddy Considine. This time we get our third mysterious government program - Blackbriar, and it seems that the Bourne trilogy has finally got to the centre of what happened to its protagonist. There are lots of little touches within this film that also show how Bourne has developed. He has always been a badass, destroying squads of police with nothing but a biro. But here, he is navigating the entire CCTV system of London Waterloo as well as protecting a civilian from an entire crack squad of government agents working for Blackbriar - the big bad, the heart of all Black Ops.

It is otherwise business as usual for the film. We get a lot of running around. We get a car chase and many a fight scene and we get a look at a government agency that can essentially access and manipulate anything in the world. It is a conspiracy theorist dream.

However, there is a new addition to the film - and it is something that seems to have become a legal requirement for modern action films. Ever since Parkour exploded into the UK, it has appeared in almost every film. A foot chase isn't a foot chase unless you're leaping off walls, through windows and landing on perilous little ledges. Action sequences don't count unless you've got people jumping off buildings these days

Ultimatum mostly takes place between the penultimate and final scenes of Supremacy... building around the idea of Bourne finding his real name and remembering everything. It is the film where (at last.....) Bourne gets a bit of support as previous characters realise that maybe he isn't hunting them down. Maybe they should help him.

There are echoes of the first two films which sit nicely within the film and don't take the audience out of the story. The question asked in this blog's title is asked by Bourne but was initially a statement from Clive Owen's The Professor. Albert Finney takes on Brian Cox's mantle of the crotchety old man at the heart of the operation and the final shot is a glorious subversion of the first film's opening shot.

Even Moby has been tweaked about and reissued when we fade out to Moby

Incidentally.... there is talk of a 4th film. The Bourne Legacy. It will be starring Jeremy Renner and it wouldn't actually feature Bourne. This sounds like risky business if ever I've seen it.

The moment you got into her car. The moment you entered her life, she was dead.

No 454 - The Bourne Supremacy

Director - Paul Greengrass

Things ended on a happy ending for Bourne.... but this is a trilogy of paranoid action thrillers, and so despite the BIG BAD being resolved at the end of Identity, it is time for a new government agency to be out hunting Bourne.

This time, Bourne is tackling a far bigger problem. Not only is he still trying to piece together his memories and sense of self (though warped and blurry flashbacks show he's beginning to remember) - but he's also been framed for a fair amount of murder.

So we're back on familiar ground. As Bourne runs away confused, chased by an agency who think Bourne is after them. When really all he wants is a quiet life.

The first thing that's clear from this sequel is that there is a new director on board. Gone are the slower more paranoid shots and in are quick edits, jittery cameras and a state of CONSTANT FUCKING TENSION

This new visual style makes for a far more frantic film and is the style which became a staple of how to make a modern, exciting, action film. Other - more established - action franchises duly took note. However, the issue which stems from is that action sequences become a lot more difficult to follow. Gone are the long lingering shots of Matt Damon stalking Clive Owen through the grass, and instead we get split second shots which change before you can fully register whats going on. It makes the whole experience of watching a film far more tiring. But, saying that,

the car chase where Bourne is in a taxi is probably one of the most dramatic and exhilarating car chases I have seen in a film.

So what else is there to comment on? Well lets look at the good news. Julia Stiles is back and she ACTUALLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO! Yes, this time Nicky is dragged back into action and she gets to actually do stuff as well as get right in the thick of a very tense interview with Bourne.

But there is more, because hidden in the shadows of the new agency (fronted by Joan Allen in fabulous 'no shit important person' mode as Pamela Landy) is none other than Michelle Monaghan. She may have very little to do in this film, but it is always a delight to see her in a film.

At the core of this film though is a man who realises he has done terrible things in his past. He is trying to write those wrongs, whilst the government he worked for still believe he is as ruthless and as deadly as he ever was. There are some touching moments, when Bourne goes to visit the children of his former victims to apologise.

Whilst the first film was all about the paranoia of not knowing who you are, this film is more about trying to right your past misdeeds. It allows Damon to relax into the role and helps create richer, more rounded characters.

Hell... by the end we even know Bourne's real name.

Fade out to Moby

Of the four aircraft hijacked that day, United 93 was the only one that did not reach its target.

No 186 – United 93

Director – Paul Greengrass

I don’t do very well with picking films to watch over breakfast. If I’ve seen the film before I’m usually on safe ground. I’ll crack out Hook or Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Back to the Future and enjoy some good clean nostalgic fun.

However, when left with films I’ve not seen before I struggle.

This is not as bad as Irreversible – the film I sat down to expecting a twisty turny thriller but which culminated in me having to flick between the 15 minute unflinching Monica Belluci rape scene and CD:UK (just to keep my cereal down) – but it is still a harrowing accompaniment to toast.

But then, considering the subject matter…. 9/11…. Why am I surprised?

The film follows a sort of documentary style. Looking at the passengers of the doomed United 93 flight and also looking a the air traffic controllers who had to watch helpless as the events unfurled.

The film also splices in footage of the attack on the twin towers, which remains as vital and as harrowing as it was almost 9 years ago.

The story falls into two sections, the events that are happening on the plane and the events that are happening within Air Traffic Control. I want to discuss these sections separately, beginning with Air Traffic Control.

What surprises me is the blasé reaction they have to the initial kidnapping report. Most assume that it is a drill, and even those that know it isn’t can’t see the threat. They assume that they’re going to a different airport. After all this is before the 11^th September. People just didn’t fly planes into buildings.

Of course, it goes without saying that after the first plane crashes into the World Trade Centre, the Air Traffic Controllers and the military stop merely following the progress, they become a lot more involved.

However, there is nothing they can do. You can have the most seasoned and most experienced negotiaters in the world, but if you’re talking at a kamikaze pilot who refuses to communicate, then you’re negotiating skills mean diddly. That is what was most chilling about the attacks… the fact that you can’t do anything to prevent them. You can only watch.

The second, and most important, part of the film occurs on the Plane itself. The set up of events on the plane never feel crude or convoluted. We’re introduced to passengers by eaves dropping in on their conversations. We get to know about the flight attendants. We occasionally pick up names, but that isn’t so important. We’re just watching the day to day lives of normal people. The holiday goers and nervous fliers in standard class. The business men and four very worried looking Arabs in first class.

I heard an on set story that the actors who played the terrorists remained separate from the rest of the cast. The idea behind this was to keep them an unknown entity. So that while the rest of the passengers bonded between shoots, the terrorists were still strange and aloof and unpredictable.

The build up, and the stress and the nervous glances between the four of them are wonderful. The fear is evident on their faces. Despite everything they believe, they’re still about to kill themselves.

Once they take over the plane, shit goes down. The film becomes more frantic, more messy, more violent. Going back to Irreversible, we still get someone having their face smashed in with a fire extinguisher.

This is a true story about how terrorists took over a plane and about how the passengers fought back. Neither the hijack nor the retaliation are pretty. This is anarchic, panicky destruction. But the film handles it with an impressive neutrality.

It is easy to paint the terrorists as obvious villains but here we have an unjudging view of them. Their actions damn them rather than the film’s tone. It reminds me of Downfall, with the fair portrayal of Hitler. We know that suicide bombers aren’t the goodies but it is fascinating to see their motivation and see their deliberation.

Greengrass even throws in some nifty little tricks showcasing similarities between the passengers and their hijackers. As the camera pans down the plane we pass the passengers praying, saying the Our Father out loud. As we move closer to the cockpit, those prayers change into prayers to Allah.

It is an impressive look at what people can achieve in a life or death situation. But it is bleak. It aint easy listening.

It aint the Rubber Dinghy Rapids.