Back in 2002, Matt Damon starred in a relatively unknown, but exciting spy thriller “The Bourne Identity.” The movie was a surprise box-office smash and helped re-establish Damon, whose career was in a bit of trouble at the time.

Since then, things have been rosy for both Damon and the “Bourne” franchise and it closes on a high note with “The Bourne Ultimatum” — an intense thriller from start to finish that is this summer’s best thriller and is without question one of the best movies of 2007.

Damon stars as Jason Bourne, the amnesiac superspy who is still trying to recover his memory and unlock the secrets of who he is and why he became a lethal killing machine.

The action starts right away with a wounded Bourne trying to escape the police in Moscow. Bourne soon discovers a British newspaper reporter, Simon Ross, (Paddy Considine) who has talked to a source who knows everything about Bourne’s past and his employers.

On his tail are a seemingly endless crew of CIA operatives led by CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), who is determined to take Bourne out before he can discover the CIA’s little secret about Bourne and how high up the cover-up into Bourne’s past really goes.

But Bourne has some allies as well including former nemesis Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), who suspects something isn’t right about the Bourne situation. Bourne also gets a big assist from Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who Bourne nearly killed in “The Bourne Supremacy.”

Everything comes at you fast and furious in “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Director Paul Greengrass steps on the gas and rarely lets off. Things such as Bourne talking Ross through a crowded train station take on extra level of intensity.

That’s to say nothing of the extraordinary action whether it’s on foot, on rooftops or Bourne battling a foe in a bathtub. Much like Bourne, you don’t have time to think; you just react. This includes one of the most hellacious car chases in recent memory through New York involving a CIA operative chasing Bourne down while he’s in a stolen police car.

There are a few moments where Bourne takes on an almost Terminator-like ability to bounce back after every fight with little damage. But it’s a minor quibble since the action is so thrilling.

As Jason Bourne, Matt Damon is an ideal choice. He perfectly captures the cold-blooded killer in Bourne, but also Bourne’s humanity that is still there beneath his rough exterior. All Bourne wants is to know who he is and why his own government is trying to kill him. He’s still in love with his dead girlfriend and just wants something of a normal life for himself.

The supporting cast of David Strathairn and Joan Allen is excellent as well. Stiles, as well as Scott Glenn are both great in the scenes they get. They all add to a cast that has also included Chris Cooper and Brian Cox over the past movies. A hero is only as good as the people around him, and Damon gets some great ones to play off of.

Many people have compared Jason Bourne to Hollywood’s other famous spy, James Bond. There is some truth to that, but it was in last year’s “Casino Royale” that James Bond really came off more like Jason Bourne, a definite sign that the public enjoys its spies more as tortured souls than as smooth-talking, martini drinkers.

The door is left open a crack for a fourth “Bourne” installment. Matt Damon shouldn’t need it, but it’s good to know if his career ever needs a jump start, he could easily come back, or in other words, be Bourne-again.

Four and a half stars out of five