Great Films with Negative Impacts: The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) is widely regarded as a landmark action film, praised for its intense, visceral energy and grounded, realistic approach to combat scenes. At the heart of this was Paul Greengrass's now-infamous use of the shaky cam technique, combined with rapid-fire quick cuts. While this style was groundbreaking at the time and lent The Bourne Ultimatum a sense of urgency and chaos fitting for its plot, the success of the film helped begat some of the worst trends in action filmmaking.
The film was praised for its relentless pacing, gritty realism, and especially the kinetic energy of its action scenes. The use of handheld cameras, along with Greengrass's style of cutting between rapid, close-up shots during fight scenes, gave the audience a sense of being thrown directly into the action, creating a sense of realism by simulating the disorientation one might feel in an actual fight or chase. This approach was a major departure from the more choreographed, wide-angle, and clear-cut action scenes that dominated the genre previously, and was seen as revolutionary at the time. But what was misunderstood was how it reflected the uncertainty, confusion, immediacy, surveillance, and paranoia that fit Jason Bourne's character arc.
However, that didn't stop the very techniques that made The Bourne Ultimatum fresh and exciting from quickly being co-opted by other filmmakers, often without the same level of skill or intent. The shaky cam and quick-cutting approach became one of the fastest growing trends in Hollywood, leading to a wave of action movies adopting these techniques without understanding why they worked so well in the Bourne films. The overuse and misapplication of these techniques would soon result in significant problems for the action genre.
Shaky Cam
After The Bourne Ultimatum, many directors began employing the shaky cam technique excessively in an attempt to bring raw energy to their action sequences. However, rather than enhancing the immersion, the shaky cam often disoriented viewers, making it difficult to follow the action.
In Greengrass’s hands, shaky cam served a narrative purpose, adding to the chaos and urgency of Bourne’s life. But in other films, it was often used simply to mask poor choreography, or to create a false sense of intensity. This reliance on shaky cam made it difficult for audiences to enjoy the spectacle of might've been well-staged action, as movements were often too blurry or frenetic to comprehend.
Quick Cutting
Another hallmark of The Bourne Ultimatum, quick-cut editing involves rapidly switching between different camera angles, and is useful for maintaining tension and pace, but it can also be disorienting when used without care. Many films began to over-rely on quick cuts, resulting in disjointed, hard-to-follow sequences.
This trend was particularly detrimental in hand-to-hand combat scenes. While previous action films had shown long, steady shots of well-choreographed fight scenes, the post-Bourne trend saw action scenes sliced into so many rapid cuts that it became impossible to appreciate the physicality of the actors or the choreography and only served to mask a lack of skill or clarity rather than enhance the tension.
Spatial Awareness
A side effect of both shaky cam and quick cutting is the erosion of spatial awareness during action scenes. Well-choreographed action relies on a clear understanding of the environment and the positions of the characters within it. Great action directors will often establish the geography of a fight or chase before the action begins, allowing the audience to follow the sequence without confusion. In contrast, many imitators of The Bourne Ultimatum neglected this essential groundwork. The camera would zoom in too closely on actors, coupled with rapid cutting between shots, making it impossible for viewers to track who was where, or what was happening in relation to the environment.
Action ReBourne
As the shaky cam and quick-cutting techniques became overused and poorly executed, a backlash began to emerge among filmmakers and audiences alike. Directors like Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), Gareth Evans (The Raid), David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2), and Chad Stahelski (John Wick) helped to restore clarity and precision to action filmmaking. These filmmakers focused on wide shots, fluid camera movements, and longer takes, allowing the audience to fully absorb and appreciate the action. The success of John Wick (2014) in particular was a pivotal moment in action films. Many consider it to be the beginning of the seismic shift toward more deliberate, choreographed action sequences, where clarity and spatial awareness were prioritized over frenetic editing.
While The Bourne Ultimatum revolutionized action filmmaking with its innovative use of shaky cam and quick-cutting. But as a result, for nearly a decade, the over-reliance on these methods by less skilled filmmakers resulted in disorienting, hard-to-follow action that ultimately detracted from the visceral enjoyment that the Bourne films were able to achieve. While I do feel that the ship has been righted in recent years, the legacy of The Bourne Ultimatum remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of following trends without understanding their purpose.
