The duo is back. Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon (Jason Bourne) return with the simply titled Jason Bourne after giving us two excellent Bourne films in the shape of The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Unfortunately, this homecoming doesn’t quite deserve the same fanfare.
This is not to say that Jason Bourne is a terrible film. It is certainly better than The Bourne Legacy (2012), which as you may recall, was a mediocre installment starring Jeremy Renner. But it’s not very good either. Compared to the other three Bourne films starring Matt Damon, it doesn’t win gold, silver, or bronze. In fact, if there was a fourth prize called copper, it would struggle to take that as well.
Jason Bourne carries some flaws in its narrative, and its real saving grace is the spectacular action. Some criticise Paul Greengrass’s super-energetic, fast-paced editing where everything feels just a touch confusing, but I personally enjoy his unique take in limited doses.
Jason Bourne does far better than the competition at the box office
There are three action sequences that stand out, including a jaw-dropping opening chase scene, and another that follows later, all of which make the Fast & Furious films seem like pony rides at the amusement park by comparison. Certainly, Greengrass is growing in stature as a director of action sequences, as evident from his work on Captain Phillips and now Jason Bourne.
The film takes place a decade after the events of The Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne has completely recovered his memories after spending his first three adventures with partial amnesia. This, as it turns out, was not a good thing, as Bourne no longer carries an aura of mystery. This may have been fine, but the screenplay fails to characterise the former spy in full control of his memories in compelling fashion. This reborn Bourne is disappointingly enough, not very interesting.
It’s not just our hero, but the entire plot of the film that feels like it is a mixture of the TV show 24, and previous Bourne films. Here, Bourne continues to evade government agents while trying to uncover the truth about his parentage after former intelligence operative Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) learns some game-changing facts about his past, including the involvement of his father in his recruitment, leading her to fly to Greece to inform him.
Nicky gained this information after partnering with a hacktivist team led by Christian Dassault (Vinzenz Kiefer), who is a hacker and a whistle-blower, basically a Julian Assange (Wikileaks) sort. When CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) gets wind of this, he sets CIA cyber head Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) after our heroes. Thus begins a thriller with some real-world issues added for good measure.
Unfortunately, these real-world issues are added with all the importance of background art, and aren’t treated with the sophistication they deserve. Thankfully, the film is very good to look at. The cinematography by Barry Ackroyd certainly makes the action scenes pop, and the exotic locations in Europe are gorgeous to look at, especially if all you can afford is a movie ticket.
So, while Jason Bourne doesn’t execute this mission with perfection, he still does a far better job than the competition at the box office, such as Suicide Squad.
Rated PG-13 for violence, intense action and brief language
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine August 21st, 2016