The Ultimate Bourne Collection [Blu-ray] [2002]

Amazon.co.uk Review
Finally making its Blu-ray bow, The Ultimate Bourne Collection defies the convention for how these things are supposed to work. The theory runs that a trilogy’s best film is the first, and it’s a case of diminishing returns from that point onwards. The Bourne movies? They just keep getting better and better.

Things kick off well with The Bourne Identity, which introduces Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. When we meet him, he’s no idea who he is, but he quickly learns that he’s in possession of some quite extraordinary, and lethal, skills. The film is slap bang on the money for the first two thirds, before a slightly muddled last act. Yet it still gets the franchise off to a good start.

The directorial reigns passed over from Doug Liman (of Swingers and now Mr and Mrs Smith fame) to Paul Greengrass (United 93, Bloody Sunday) for The Bourne Supremacy, and it proved to be a wise choice. Supremacy is a faster, more intense film, that this time sees Jason Bourne framed for murder, and gradually closing in on the secrets of his part. It’s pulsating stuff.

The icing on the proverbial cake though is the superb The Bourne Ultimatum, arguably one of the finest blockbuster movies of the past decade or two. Effectively a two-hour chase movie, it’s a staggering achievement that returning director Greengrass manages to keep the momentum going right the way through. Damon, by this point, utterly owns the role, and it’s a film that demands to be re-watched time and time again.

As you’d hope and expect, high definition is both kind and effective where the Bourne films are concerned, with the fast action looking quite superb in 1080p. Backed up by a vibrant, brilliant surround sound mix, all three of the films benefit from the upgrade, and ultimately leave you salivating for the much-rumoured fourth installment. A terrific trilogy. --Simon Brew
Synopsis
Features the action-packed Jason Bourne thrillers THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM.
In THE BOURNE IDENTITY, a man who may or may not be Jason Bourne is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea and is hauled onto a fishing boat. When the ship's doctor examines the unconscious castaway, he discovers two bullet wounds and an implanted device that displays a Swiss bank account number. With nothing but this code, the amnesiac Bourne travels to Zurich and gains access to a safe-deposit box containing a gun, thousands of dollars in various currencies, and valid passports from numerous countries--each listing a different identity. Within minutes, Bourne is on the run from a seemingly ever-present agency.
In THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, Bourne is forced out of hiding as the result of an attempt on his life and fulfills his earlier promise to wreak vengeance on his former CIA employers, some of whom may be in league with murderous Russians.
In THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, Jason Bourne searches for his own identity after a bout of amnesia, leading him on a globe-trekking trip in which he must avoid the zinging bullets of cops and assassins who are out to stop him before he uncovers the truth.