Picking up seconds after The Bourne Supremacy finished, Paul Greengrass hits the ground running. Noted for guerrilla styled filmmaking, heart-pounding action and an affection for shaky-cam, the ball-tearing director of United 93 keeps pressing the action-thriller button until you plead for mercy. Watching Ultimatum is like being one of the passengers on that fated plane.

The story of a super-assassin who couldn’t is reignited when Jason Bourne finds himself the target of cold-hearted killers. Who wants him dead, and why, is as much of a mystery as the circumstances that have led him to this point. For Jason still isn’t too certain of the facts of his life, and having a gun pointed in your face doesn’t make that any easier. His quest to discover who he was, has now become a mission.

Re-teamed opposite CIA agents Joan Allen and Julia Stiles, Matt Damon is Bourne again, re-embracing him like an old friend. Writer Tony Gilroy also returns for his third season, adding real depth to the creative continuum. It’s more than watching familiar faces go through the motions. The Bourne Ultimatum goes to dark places that can only be reached by those who understand the characters. The fiery relationship between Allen and her CIA adversary (David Strathairn) adds another layer of invective.

Greengrass maintains a thrilling pace that spares little time to consider the escalating improbability of events that are propelling the narrative. His unique style and choppy production puts you right in the heart of the kick-arse action; it’s like riding as wing man on Bourne’s flight of terror. Bouncing across the world at such proximity is enough to make your stomach turn and intestinal fortitude is a measure of how much you’ll enjoy travelling with Bourne. If you can hold your head, Ultimatum is unbeatable.

// COLIN FRASER