Trilogies rarely spring from some great creative vision, the third film the necessary conclusion to a long and wonderful story. Usually they’re the result of the profit motive: the story is left unfinished to ensure the possibility of another film to keep the cash rolling in. Exceptions to this are George Lucas’s first Star Wars trilogy and, more recently, Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel in three parts, The Lord of the Rings, both great filmmaking achievements. Having read all three of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne novels, I knew a third Bourne film would be coming, and having seen the last one, The Bourne Supremacy, which I considered good entertainment, I wasn’t concerned about Hollywood’s history of pathetic sequels and trilogies, but moderately enthused about The Bourne Ultimatum. I didn’t expect to be rewarded with one of the best spy-action films of the last 20 years.

Ultimatum begins just after the car chase in Moscow that concluded Supremacy, as Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) continues his search for who he really is. While traveling in Europe he reads an article about himself and a CIA operation, called Blackbriar, published in The Guardian and written by British reporter Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), who’s trying to expose some of the agency’s covert and illegal tactics. Realizing that Ross might have information about his past, Bourne tracks him down, only to watch Ross be assassinated before he can reveal the source of his information. Bourne steals Ross’s notes, discovers that the reporter’s contact was Neil Daniels (Colin Stinton), the CIA’s station chief in Madrid, and sets off to find him.

Meanwhile, on Bourne’s trail is another CIA official, Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), who now runs Blackbriar, the umbrella operation of Treadstone, the CIA’s worldwide network of assassins. Vosen uses all of Blackbriar’s resources to try to kill Bourne and protect his operation. CIA director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn) brings in his deputy director, Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), to assist Vosen with her knowledge of Bourne. But Landy is soon at odds with Vosen in her belief that Bourne can be corralled without having to be killed. Assisting Bourne in the field again is Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), whom Bourne meets while tracking down the Madrid station chief. Now Bourne, Parsons, and even Landy are targets of Blackbriar.

Using the same handheld-camera techniques he employed so effectively in The Bourne Supremacy and United 93, director Paul Greengrass makes even bureaucrats moving from one office to another an exciting event. The Bourne Ultimatum is fast-paced from beginning to end, with only a few slow, relaxing moments. The rough, brutal fights suffer from too-quick editing -- it was sometimes unclear what each combatant was doing. But they were exciting nonetheless.

The actors, especially those portraying the CIA officials, play their roles with such seriousness and earnestness that it’s easy to forget that this film is actually fluff. There are no over-the-top, frothing-at-the-mouth bad guys, just misguided bureaucrats taking matters into their own hands. This keeps Greengrass’s film from becoming farce.

Perhaps Tony Gilroy, Scott C. Burns, and George Nolfi, who based the screenplay only very loosely on Ludlum’s novel, take the action a bit too far. In trying to keep Blackbriar a secret, the CIA creates such havoc in New York City that the operation is sure to be exposed by the other law-enforcement agencies who have to clean up the mess. But why carp when presented with such good entertainment?

Much has been made of which film is better: the recent Casino Royale or The Bourne Ultimatum, James Bond or Jason Bourne. Fans of spy movies will recognize that each offers the viewer something different. Casino Royale is glossy, stylish, and focuses on character development and the reinvention of James Bond; The Bourne Ultimatum has a much grittier look, with more fights, chases, and action. Neither is better -- each is special, and the world is big enough for both.

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