Customer Reviews

The Bourne Ultimatum

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, before any of you say to yourself, "I don't believe you" I swear to you I'm telling you the truth. PLEASE read this review. I like Bourne movies. Not a Bourne-hater. But there's a reason why I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

I liked the movie and also liked the music within the movie, but like most of John Powell's soundtracks, a lot of the music that was actually in the movie isn't on the soundtrack. If you watch the Waterloo sequence again in theaters, you'll notice that a HUGE portion of that music isn't on the soundtrack. Don't believe me? Watch the movie again. When the assassin runs away after shooting the journalist, none of that music [which is GOOD music] appears on the soundtrack.

Another example: The music for the entire Morocco chase scene between Daniels, Desh, Bourne, and Nikki Parsons does not appear on the soundtrack.

Yes, I'm aware that this is a "soundtrack" and not a "score", but I feel like I wasted my money. I thought that there would at least be music from the scenes I actually enjoyed most in the movie.

For the final Bourne installment, Powell naturally went with the basics of Bourne music, but manages here to flesh them out, giving his themes more room to breathe, and even a little more underlying orchestration. The CD plays out like a memo to Powell from Hans Zimmer, suggesting a few "epic" notes and additions to themes from time to time. This score doesn't have the tense "togetherness" of the previous scores, and certainly isn't as enjoyable as Supremacy (which is still the best of the three). The music has a tendency to blend a little into the background, but it's still a great soundtrack.

A couple of tracks that stand out are "Man vs. Man" and "Tangiers". "Waterloo" is good, but a bit long and incoherent.

Two things stand out however with regards to criticism of the CD: 1) the tracks are all out of order, and 2) at least a good third of Ultimatum uses score pieces from the previous two Bourne films (notably "The Apartment" from Identity and "Bim Bam Smash" from Supremacy, easily inserted in the appropriate places, once you figure out the order.) I'm also not crazy about the "Extreme Ways" redux, but that's just my opinion. I like the original mix a little better.

If you really must get a score CD to one of the Bourne movies then go with Bourne Supremacy. I was expecting good things of this one but after giving it a couple of spins I can see why Varese Sarabande opted out of releasing this one (Decca picks this score up); it's mainly just recycled stuff from the previous films. But don't expect anything as frantic as 'Bim Bam Smash' from second movie here.

My main problem with this score is that is just so generic and random. Yes, the Bourne theme is in there, but it's hardly a masterwork. I feel like anyone who wanted to convey the hectic, unpredictable nature of the movie through music could have come up with this score. Some tracks (the CD is a mere 50 minutes) work alright as an adrenaline burst but don't expect anything even remotely articulate or emotive.

It reminded me a lot of Hans Zimmer's score to Black Hawk Down, but that at least had some haunting sounds to it. Unless you are really desperate to have a new, upbeat version of Moby's Extreme Ways on CD then just give this a miss and pick the CD for The Bourne Supremacy.

The shortest and weakest of the 3 soundtracks, but that's not saying much. John Powell is a brilliant song writer, and while he sat back on this one, he still crafted a few great new songs for it. Tracks 1,2, and 4 our my favorites. Tangiers is especially brilliant. This is a dark and satisfying conclusion to one of the best, most tense trilogy soundtracks I have ever heard.

I really love the Bourne movies and especially the Bourne Ultimatum, so I had to order the CD. If you love these movies as I do then you'll love the CD.

The newest John Powell score for the Bourne Ultimatum is a real finale of the Bourne OST trilogy. While the score is different compared to the previous ones, a recognizable link with the previous Bourne scores is clearly audible, because of the previously used themes and instruments. Still the soundtrack is composed without leaning too much on the two existing Bourne scores; in repeating and re-using existing melodies and tracks.
The renewing part of the OST is in the use of more orchestral instruments (more brass: horns, trumpets & strings) and bigger arrangements giving the score a bigger and more intense sound. This 'orchestral sound' is kept during the whole score and is mixed very well with the electronic, and percussion sounds from the previous Bourne scores.

The length of the 9 John Powells tracks around 50 minutes is somewhat on the short side, but on the other hand never bores. The OST contains very good tracks, and the balance between the action and calm parts is good. Track 2: [Tangiers] stands out because of the action and its Morocco feeling. Where track 3 and 5 are beautiful calm tracks. The OST ends with the dramatic tracks 7 and 8 (Coming home & Man versus Man). The fitting conclusion of the last track is the same in melody and instrument as the Bourne Identity OST started (while at both moments, Bourne lies in the water). A beautiful arranged detail! The fans of Bourne scores should feel comfortable. People looking for a revolutionary score however, could get a bit disappointed. I would recommend this soundtrack to anyone who is a John Powell fan, or liked the previous Bourne scores.

As I watched Bourne Ultimatum I was struck by how similar this soundtrack sounded to the first two, particularly Supremacy. I was hesitant to order the disc, but upon listening to it, while some themes are retained from the first two films, they have been re-arranged brilliantly. This is a top-notch soundtrack, evoking all of the energy and emotion of the film, and is a worgty addition to the other two Bourne soundtracks.

The movie was awesome...the soundtrack is awesome...makes you think how creative people must be to come up with this masterpiece of a movie. John Powell is really good at creating soundtracks. I can't even begin to think how he can come up with all these awesome different tracks.
Also, did anyone notice that Powell used a bit from his X3- The Last Stand movie soundtrack "Phoenix Rises" and "Dark Phoenix's Tragedy." You can hear it in the movie, X3, when the Professor says to Jean "Jean...let me in," at the battle in Jean's house. In Ultimatum, it's at the end of the movie when Bourne is running on the roof trying to escape from the facility and is being chased by the other Treadstone agent. This piece actually fits really well.

This CD has the edge-of-your-seat music so fitting of the movie. I only looked into this soundtrack for the last song, Extreme Ways by Moby, which is a very catchy tune. The rest of it is good, but I personally don't enjoy listening to action-movie music without the action movie part of it. Certain soundtracks, like that of Requiem for a Dream or Braveheart, are beautiful and enjoyable to listen to on their own. This isn't my cup of tea, but it is definitely well-written music.. especially the Moby jam. ;)

I agree with William Smith on nearly every point of his review re this soundtrack. My only counter is that the redux of Extreme Ways is excellent during the first half of the song, capturing the mood of the scene of the movie perfectly (in fact, if you listen carefully, you can hear the Bourne theme blended perfectly into the intro)...lending itself to imply that there is a new history of Bourne to follow. The downside of this newer version is the female backup singer(s) in the song. Once she/they start/starts "singing/screaming/whatever you call it", she/they ruin/ruins the rest of Moby's masterpiece.

I say, Moby, please "redux the redux" once again! Extreme Ways is a classic and we love what you have done to update it but PLEASE, lose whomever sang backup.

Overall, I like the soundtrack. I certainly loved the movie and music's timing/emotion in each scene. My recommendation? Buy the soundtrack...it is good.