Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
85
(38 sources)
85
(38 sources)
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100
Village Voice
Bravura doesn't begin to describe Greengrass's skill in mounting these complex sequences...This is, simply put, some of the most accomplished filmmaking being done anywhere for any purpose. Read Full Review » -
100
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100
Empire
The best blockbuster of the summer and the most accomplished thriller since, well, Supremacy. This is the payoff Bourne fans have been waiting for and the standard to which future blockbusters should be held. Read Full Review » -
100
-
100
The New York Times
Mr. Greengrass knows how to do his job, and there's no one in Hollywood right now who does action better, who keeps the pace going so relentlessly, without mercy or letup, scene after hard-rocking scene. Read Full Review » -
100
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100
Salon.com
A great action movie, exhilarating and neatly crafted, the kind of picture that will still look good 20 or 30 years from now. Read Full Review » -
100
-
91
Portland Oregonian
It's a relentless finale to the "Bourne" movie trilogy that raises the stakes, pumps up the action and develops old characters while introducing new villains Read Full Review » -
91
Baltimore Sun
Few films combine a dense and tingling atmosphere with the headlong pacing and adventure of The Bourne Ultimatum. Read Full Review » -
91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Damon's minimalist style is key to why the Bourne movies have become an oasis from other blockbuster action fare. Read Full Review » -
91
Entertainment Weekly
A spectacular windup toy of a thriller -- a contraption made by an artist. Read Full Review » -
90
The Hollywood Reporter
Audiences will eat it up: This is a postmillennial spy-action movie pitched to a large international audience. You hardly need subtitles. Read Full Review » -
90
Variety
A pounding, pulsating thriller that provides an almost constant adrenaline surge for nearly two hours. Read Full Review » -
90
Los Angeles Times
It says something about Paul Greengrass' directing style that he's able to make a movie as fresh and frank as The Bourne Ultimatum from a genre as moldy and bombastic as the spy thriller. Read Full Review » -
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Both the most bewildering of the three movies and also the most brutally compelling. Read Full Review » -
88
TV Guide
It's the rare action picture whose adrenaline-driven thrills neither overshadow the characters nor degenerate into cartoonish preposterousness. Read Full Review » -
88
Chicago Sun-Times
You sit there, and the action assaults you, and using words to re-create it would be futile. What actually happens to Jason Bourne is essentially immaterial. What matters is that SOMETHING must happen, so he can run away from it or toward it. Read Full Review » -
88
Boston Globe
The movies are smart -- smarter than you, but not in an off-putting way. Their basic appeal, especially this new one, is that Matt Damon's killing machine, Jason Bourne, is the cleverest man on earth. And we thrill to his sense of superiority. Read Full Review » -
88
Miami Herald
It's an action picture that's been distilled and compressed to its tightest, barest, almost abstract essence, and it's absolutely thrilling. Read Full Review » -
88
New York Daily News
Bursting with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it's finally done. Read Full Review » -
88
Rolling Stone
The movie is thunderously exciting, but what makes it resonate is the wrenching story we read on Damon's face. We've waited all summer for a wild ride to grab us with more than jolts. Now it's here. Hang on. Read Full Review » -
88
Chicago Tribune
This is the most satisfying thriller of the year, capping the Bourne trilogy. Read Full Review » -
88
New York Post
Director Paul Greengrass - who directed the superb "United 93" between the second and third "Bourne" installments - knows how to stage and edit bravura action sequences, generating almost unbearable suspense while deploying a superb cast. Read Full Review » -
80
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80
The New Yorker
You come out of the movie both excited and soothed, as if your body had been worked on by felt-covered drumsticks. Read Full Review » -
80
Newsweek
For action junkies, The Bourne Ultimatum will be like a hit of pure meth. It's bravura filmmaking in the jittery, handheld, frenetically edited Paul Greengrass style. Read Full Review » -
78
Austin Chronicle
Greengrass and co. may have made one of the best action movies in recent memory. Read Full Review » -
75
ReelViews
The Bourne Ultimatum provides a lot more suspense and tension than "Transformers" could hope for. Read Full Review » -
75
Charlotte Observer
For once, I didn't feel cheated by an unresolved ending, but let's hope this is the end. Robert Ludlum wrote three Bourne novels, and this is one series that ought not to be dishonored by inferior sequels. Read Full Review » -
75
Christian Science Monitor
Director Paul Greengrass downplays the movie's travelogue aspects by repeating the bobbly, hand-held camera style he used on "The Bourne Supremacy." It's not a style I'm fond of. Read Full Review » -
75
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75
Premiere
Most thrillers of this ilk have no qualms about going past the 120-minute mark, but I think Greengrass and company understood that overdoing it would turn mass excitement into massive headache. Read Full Review » -
70
Film Threat
A perfectly serviceable action movie...better than most, in fact. The entire premise is growing creaky, however, leading us to think we might want to leave this particular spy out in the cold a while, before he becomes completely tiresome. Read Full Review » -
70
New York Magazine
It's not just vérité--it's battlefield vérité; it triggers your fight-or-flight instincts. Read Full Review » -
70
Chicago Reader
This adaptation of Robert Ludlum's third and last Bourne thriller doesn't have much story left, so director Paul Greengrass has to keep it moving all the time. Read Full Review » -
60
Washington Post
It's frenetic to the point of crazy while achieving a mark that barely exceeds mediocre. Read Full Review » -
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The movie is so surreal it's just not very involving. As an action extravaganza, it's busy but dull. Read Full Review »
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