The Bourne Ultimatum, HD-DVD/DVD Combo (2007)
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Albert Finney, Joan Allen
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Video : 2.40:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 widescreen, 1080p widescreen HD
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French
Extras: Director audio commentary; five featurettes (“Man on the Move: Jason Bourne,” “New York Chase,” “Rooftop Pursuit,” “Driving School” and “Planning the Punches”); deleted scenes; picture-in-picture commentary; Be Bourne Spy Training web-enabled game; Blackbriar Files; D-Box programming
Length: 116 minutes
Movie Rating: **** AV Rating: ****1/2
Based upon the Robert Ludlum novels, “The Bourne Ultimatum” is the third film in the Bourne movie trilogy. In this installment, a British investigative reporter’s delving into the CIA’s Blackbriar Files draws Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) out of hiding. Meeting with the reporter triggers Bourne’s past memories and rekindles his desire to discover his true identity and how he came to be a trained assassin. Unfortunately, the CIA has been tracking this same reporter and now has reestablished a lead on Bourne. Racing across four continents to elude capture, Bourne’s travels conclude in the United States where he finally uncovers the secrets for which he has long been searching. As with the two prior films in the franchise, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The action and fight scenes are both plausible and realistic which isn’t the norm for most spy films. Given the success of the film, I would be in favor of a fourth Bourne film. Highly recommended.
The high definition video quality of this HD-DVD is very good. Images are clean with nice detail. Blacks are consistently dark throughout the movie. Colors are a bit muted but otherwise accurate with saturated hues. Other than film’s intentional grainy effect, picture defect mastering is solid with no major flaws or compression artifacts. The overall audio quality is excellent with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus track. The soundtrack actively incorporates all of the discrete channels into its mix. Dialogue is always crisp and intelligible. The surround channels are aggressively utilized for the sound effects and music score. Multiple split rear effects are present. The low frequency effects channel is given several opportunities to rumble. [The disc is one of a few HD DVD offerings to also include a standard DVD option – playable on any DVD player – a feature which Blu-rays do not have…Ed.]
The standard DVD side of the The Bourne Ultimatum combo disc is compatible with the D-Box motion system (the HD-DVD side, however, is not compatible), meaning that if you have the necessary D-Box equipment, your movie viewing experience will be enhanced by adding both motion and vibration to your chosen seating. Approximately one third of this movie has motion cues and/or vibration present. My favorite D-Box motion moments from the DVD are: (1) the train ride in Chapter 3 (beginning at 0:12:35) (although it was subtle, I actually felt like I was on-board a train riding on tracks); (2) the motorcycle chase in Chapter 11 (beginning at 0:59:00)(the up and down motion generated here did a nice job simulating Bourne’s motorcycle racing along the steps); (3) the fight between Bourne and Desh in Chapter 12 (beginning at 1:07:00) (this otherwise intense fight scene is made all the more realistic as I felt each punch, kick and body blow being dished out); and (4) the car chase and multiple crashes in Chapter 16 (beginning at 1:26:40) (I felt like I was in the passenger seat alongside Jason Bourne experiencing the swerve of every turn and the jolt of each impact upon the vehicle). Overall, I would rate the D-Box motion/vibration quality for The Bourne Ultimatum as excellent.
