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The key to being Jason Bourne: Never stop moving.

When there are people around, Bourne walks quickly, like he's late for a train. He'll sprint when he's alone. He can disarm a police officer or stab an assassin without breaking stride.

Constantly minding his surroundings, Bourne (Matt Damon) moves while spotting snipers, CIA agents and cameras. He's easily one of the most dangerous men on the planet, and the feds, desperate to find him and kill him, spare no resource in their hunt.

It makes for brilliant action. "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a bullet — the best of a very smart trilogy.

Bourne makes an escape in the opening scene, and, for the film's entire running time, he stops only to scan important documents, make a quick phone call or beat some guys up.

And oh, man, does he beat some guys up. Just like in the previous films, Bourne takes down multiple armed aggressors in seconds. Remember the magazine he used to de-knife an assassin in "Supremacy?" That's nothing compared with what he can do with a textbook and a towel. (How well-trained is this guy? Everything becomes a weapon. He used a pen during a knife fight in "Identity," and even thought to take the cap off first.)

Bourne makes most of his swift escapes by foot, but he's a maniac on a motorcycle and can drive like Steve McQueen.

The stunts are spectacular and the hand-to-hand fights brutal, yet everything is somehow so minimalist. Unlike 99.8 percent of Hollywood's action offerings, not a moment in "Bourne Ultimatum" feels overdone. Cars crash like they're supposed to. The punches sound heavy and painful. During some of the fight scenes, refreshingly, there is no music. Throughout Bourne's apartment battle with a particularly strong agent, we hear only the sounds of grunting and punching. Then internal neck parts start to strain and crack.

Credit director Paul Greengrass for his shaky but gorgeous style. This is his second "Bourne" flick, and his already pitch-perfect approach has been streamlined. Scenes move faster than in Bourne's last adventure, and Greengrass takes more risks (like the motorcycle chase, or an exhilarating sniper sequence).

The film's plot begins with our hero still in pursuit of the agents who made him a killer. He'd have let it all go if The Man hadn't sent someone to finish him off in India. (Killing Bourne's girlfriend in "Supremacy" was an all-time stupid movie decision. You really want to make this guy angry?)

So, he bounces around Europe in search of revenge and answers. Why is he so darned awesome? Who taught him how to beat up four guys while simultaneously taking apart their pistols and memorizing all the surrounding license plates? He remembers his victims but doesn't know why they had to die or why he was the one to kill them.

He knows he's done terrible things for terrible reasons, and now he just wants out. (The guess here: Greengrass is not pro-surge.)

"Ultimatum" is supposed to be the series finale, and it does feel like a satisfying wrap on the saga.

But when he was moving, Bourne did it better than Bond or Batman or almost any other movie tough guy. These three films held themselves to a higher standard than most action flicks.

Let's hope those pencil-necked feds find another way to tick him off.