Bourne Ultimatum - A Martial Artist’s Perspective | Salt Lake City Utah Martial Arts

About the Author: Ryan Wheaton has been teaching American Kenpo since 1991 and is the chief instructor at Arrowhead Martial Arts Studio in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is an internationally certified 6th degree black belt and personal student of 10th degree black belt Paul Mills. Ryan sits on the Board of Directors for the American Kenpo Karate International (AKKI) and is also a regular seminar presenter at AKKI National & International events.

Bourne Ultimatum - A Martial Artist’s Perspective

Filed under: Martial Arts Movies, Ryan's Raves — Ryan Wheaton

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This past weekend I finally went to see the Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon.

As a martial artist, I love going to films that demonstrate martial arts in a realistic manner. So what did I think of the martial arts in this film? Read on.

If you think I’m going to say I didn’t like it because they weren’t doing Kenpo on the screen, think again. When I first saw these movies, it reminded me a lot of Kenpo so I was immediately sold. So what did I think? Simply put, the fight scenes alone are worth the price of admission. Anyone who has seen the movie I’m sure will agree.

Many people are bugged by the shakey camera effect however I will say it makes you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action. A nice touch, if you ask me. The use of environmental weapons was a great twist when Bourne uses a hardbound book to overwhelm an “asset” that was sent to kill him. In Kenpo, environment is defined as everything in you, on you, and around you. Bourne used this idea incredibly well and a good reminder that if ever put in position to defend ourselves that environmental objects can be a great equalizer.

I was impressed at how believable Damon was with the martial arts moves. He looked very natural and it didn’t seemed forced. You can tell he did a lot of training before the film started and from what I understand it was a form of Escrima/Kali. From my perspective, he moved like he knew what he was doing. So was it acting or is he that good? Frankly, I don’t care. He nailed it.

The film started with a bang and didn’t let up for the rest of the movie. Good plot. Good pace. Good action. This is by far the best of the trilogy (although there are rumors of more to come).

My overall review: Run, don’t walk, to go see this movie!

Agree or disagree? Leave your opinion in the form of a comment below.

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