Action Opening - Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Ultimatum

Immediately the scene starts and exciting suspenseful music is accompanied with diegetic train worker speaking over the radio as well as foreign police mens chaotic chatter. The closer the police get to this wanted man who is our main character the more the music rises in tempo. Lots of police sirens are heard suggesting that he is wanted very much by the authority of whatever country he is in. As he escapes the police sight momentarily he enters a pharmacy where he is crashing around, we hear him opening and slamming doors knocking bottles causing them to smash, all very diegetic giving us a sense of realism. All his actions are noisy and un careful suggesting he just wants to find want he needs as quick as possible and then move on. While aiding his own wounds music increases in tempo once again. We also hear him let out a shout in pain this is the first time we hear his voice. While he is reliving a memory the voices are echoed and muffled to make the audience aware that this is a flashback and not happening now. We hear very clearly the sound of the main characters fist  as it comes into contact with the policeman’s jaw, causing us to emphasise with how painful it was as well as the diegetic cocking of the gun again creating realism as we imagine ourselves being the other police man with a gun on us. Music halts as he gains power suggesting that the audience has nothing to worry about as he is now in control suggesting that we shouldn’t fear him. As we hear him speak once again it’s obvious he speaks English but has learnt this language making us wonder how long he has been there.

A wide variety of shots are used in this film’s opening to give the viewer the feel of seeing everything, getting every detail. Starting off with a close up shot of a man who seems to become who we a solely focus on making him our main character. The camera is not steady instead as if someone is running with it this creates what you would see if you were in that position, this is effective as the audience feel more connected to the scene. Many point of view shots are used showing us how he sees things. Low angle shot is used when he falls to the ground after jumping from the moving train this shows he is injured causing him to be vulnerable and easier to catch supposedly. Close ups of his face are used to identify his pain and hurt which is obvious through his facial expression. While he is in front of the mirror the camera focuses on his gun that he places in the sink, our immediate opinion is negative as we see him running from the authority as well as being armed suggesting he is dangerous. His hands are extremely bloody showing us that he is losing a lot of blood therefore must be injured. An interesting close up of the tap is shown this may represent the quality of the place he is in through the dripping tap or the rusting metal or it may have been a trigger to his flashback. Throughout his entire flashback the main shot used is a medium canted shot suggesting want he remembers is vague. From this anguish in his face after thinking about his memory it’s very clear to see this is causing him a lot of distress. Shot reverse shot is used between main character and the policeman he has at gun point. Ending shot in this opening is a medium shot of the main character lowering his gun.

Genre is very clear in the opening; it’s obvious that is action through the stereotypical props, characters and story line used. Guns are featured in every action film to create the image that whoever is in possession has power. The main characters clothing is all black giving nothing away about his personality leaving the audience to see him as an enigma. Stunts are used as he jumps from the train as well as fights and self surgery, majority of clichés are interpreted in this opening. Although some stereotypes are challenged, we see this through the police men being foreign we usually associate the baddies being foreign but in this case they are not.

Both the character and narrative is vague, this gives enough information to entice us but not too much giving the story away. Our main character is an earlier 30’s man who is wanted by the police. He is in a foreign country we know this from the policeman’s dialog, the audience wonder two things; why is he in that country and why are they after him. We assume he is a baddy seen as he is a wanted man, but as his flashback occurs it’s clear that he was being forced into something he doesn’t want to do we begin to emphasis. Finally it is confirmed that he is a good man as he doesn’t kill the policeman instead he states that, “My argument is not with you” showing that he is not a ruthless killer but only kills men who have wronged him.