Nine years ago, Matt
Damon came into the action genre with his adaptation of a novel series
character named Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity.” After “The Bourne
Ultimatum,” Matt Damon stated that his days as Bourne were over. Jeremy Renner
entered into the franchise (with a different character) in the underrated and
wrongfully-panned “The Bourne Legacy” and after a nine year break; Damon came
back to the series in the latest installment.
Fans were excited (and
rightfully so) that Damon came back but it’s difficult not to say that this
sequel tried to be its own entity more than the previous movies.
Instead of being a new
story, “Jason Bourne” does the same story – throwing new ideas and setting away
for the usual story. Fans of this series, this one is for you. Everyone else,
this latest entry will mostly feel repetitive.
Returning with Damon is
director Paul Greengrass and Julia Stiles as Nicky Parsons, who is no longer
with the CIA and wants to publicly free confidential information about
Treadstone (the section that made Bourne and other super agents). She finds
Bourne so he can help her and, you should know this by now, the CIA wants to
bring them both in.
Working for the CIA is
director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) and Officer Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander).
Vincent Cassel is also in the movie as the Asset, a valiant murderer out to
kill Bourne.
As the movie goes on,
there is a number of engaging chase scenes showing the Asset tracking Bourne.
Even though there are selected memorable portions (one of them being Bourne and
Parsons on a motorcycle), none of them are really awesome, mainly when
comparing some of the adrenaline-rushing fight scenes in the past movies in the
series.
John Hanlon said it best
when he said in his review, “Those Bourne films offered some amazingly visceral
fight scenes where Bourne had to take on his opponents in intense hand-to-hand
combat. Greengrass’ direction was sometimes frantic but those scenes packed a
punch. Here, Greengrass and Damon try to recreate those moments but none of
them stand out as being as exciting.”
The same feeling is what
carries the whole story on its own, which gives a look into Bourne’s life
before he was enlisted into Treadstone. Here, there are some new secrets that
insert a power to Bourne’s mission but don’t really give the expressive weight
that’s needed.
If you are concerned if
you could tell what goes on in the film throughout, there are a few parts that
do give it away. There’s a small but vital role that Riz Ahmed is in as Aaron
Kalioor. He is the CEO of the social media branch that is getting money by
Dewey’s CIA, behind closed doors. I agree with Hanlon when he said, “The
story-line raises solid and serious questions about government surveillance and
the alliances sometimes shared between private sector companies and government
officials.”
Another part – where Lee
is thinking about Bourne’s devotion – works very well, giving a look at the
idea that this series could continue into exceptional terrain. Instead, the
story turns the story in a U-Turn into more predictable terrain.
Hanlon concluded by
saying, “For those who enjoyed the original trilogy– as I did– Jason Bourne is
a satisfying return to the series after The Bourne Legacy set it off track.
That being said, one hopes that this series strives to do something different
and more unique in the future.”
In the end, as much as I
did enjoy the movie, I do believe that they shouldn’t have done the movie like
this again. They instead should have continued with the Aaron Cross story, even
though it may not have been that engaging. Still, this was a nice summer flick
that I definitely think is worth checking out for those who are fans of the
series and want to see Jason Bourne back in the movies.
Well, that concludes “Jason
Bourne Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed it and I’m happy I finally got around to
reviewing this series, as it is one of my favorites. Hopefully I gave some
great recommendations. See everyone next month, which will be October. You know
what that means? HALLOWEEN MONTH!!!! Just sit tight and wait for tomorrow,
which will be the start of reviewing certain franchises that will be looked at
throughout the month that I think everyone should just avoid.
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