The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

I've been putting this off a long time, because unlike most viewers, I got very little out of the first two Bourne entries. The Bourne Identity struck me as an odd combination of stark and semi-comically unrealistic; despite my viewing in a theater, even the car chase failed to excite me. The Bourne Supremacy, which introduced more popular director Paul Greengrass to the franchise, was too bleak to provide much fun, and I kept getting déjà vu. Fans of the third have described it as almost too intense, and less generous critics have said it is too intense (and has no actual ultimatum). Nevertheless, between its Academy Awards and its continual placement on the IMDb top 250, the threequel seemed necessary for my cinematic education.

The Netflix jacket would have you believe that the only new elements are a few moderately famous actors and several major cities on three continents, but I can do a little better at summarizing. The titular rogue secret government assassin (Matt Damon) has apparently kept a low profile for weeks following the Moscow events in TBS. Then a Guardian journalist writing about him reveals insider knowledge of one Operation Blackbriar, getting his attention -- and, less welcomely, that of the CIA. With fresh clues and the cooperation of a disenchanted operative (Julia Stiles), Jason Bourne resumes his search to fill the sizable holes in his memory, all the while evading or fighting the agency led by Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and, more sympathetically, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen).

United 93 (2006)

IMDb helpfully listed 50 movies with (vaguely) patriotic American themes for the 4th of July. As usual for cinematic lists, I'd seen most and was not interested in most of the rest. I considered Clear and Present Danger, but it sounds pretty run-of-the-mill and I'd seen Patriot Games last year. Besides, U93 is about a half-hour shorter.

In truth, it could've stood to shave off another half-hour. The story of the one American plane that got hijacked on 9/11 but hit only the ground starts with a peek at the hijackers getting ready and then spends a bit too long on the regular passengers getting ready. To anyone who's flown commercially before, it's an utterly familiar scene. Maybe we're supposed to learn to relate strongly to the ordinary people, but my attention wandered as easily as if I were on a plane myself. It takes about 17 minutes for a sense of conflict to kick in, and when it does, it's not on the plane.