Director: Paul Greengrass
By Alex Watson
Although it is wonderful to see Bourne back on the big screen, Jason Bourne just doesn't feel completely necessary. This character has proven to be one of the smartest and well-developed creations in this new millennium. Paul Greengrass is able to conjure up those moments that we love throughout this picture and like always it is given a clever story complete with unexpected twists. Problem is that the constant turns become impossible to follow after a point and although it is wonderful to see Matt Damon and Greengrass resurrect their greatest creation, it doesn't thrill like it should.
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) lives off the grid in Greece and has hoped to put his troubles behind him. When his old colleague Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) comes looking for him, this already spells trouble. Soon he is implicated in a global encryption scam which sees him under the suspicious eyes of old school CIA Chief Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) and new ambitious agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander). He must also contend with some difficult secrets about his past.
While it is not an unwelcome fifth entry, Jason Bourne was maybe a step too far. In places, it thrills and you forget how naturally Greengrass' direction fits this franchise. When we left Bourne floating in the New York waters, it was the perfect end to a wonderful trilogy that gave us possibly the best character arc. When we first see Bourne making a living as a bare-knuckle fighter on the Greek-Albanian border, it does make a nice reappearance. When his old lover/ally Nicky shows up and starts hacking the CIA, this is when shit starts to real. Tracked to Athens, he soon has his old nemesis The Asset (Vincent Cassel) chasing after him during a political riot. While Greengrass gives an impressive kick start, it's not all uphill from here. Discoveries about his true identity do keep this picture on its toes, but the big reveals just do not shock us anymore. In the previous three installments, each little red herring injected a little more excitement as who Bourne really was? Here it just feels like they are drawing out the mileage.
The main issue with the story line comes from its overloaded central premise, Bourne is still attempting to under just how he came to join Treadstone and when he discover his involvement may link close to home a new fire is lit. Grouchy and underhanded Dewey is an old style veteran who believes in just tying up loose ends. His conflict with his protege Heather who believes Bourne should just be brought in, Dewey adds little to picture and is reduced to shouting lines at random personnel. There is also the added problem of the perhaps unnecessary side story of billionaire Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed) and his industry Deep Dream. Believing that privacy is key to society, Dewey naturally needs him for a key project and he is reluctant to assist. Living in a post-Snowden society has made the CIA anxious and now they are willing to risk people's freedom to stay ahead. So many different things happening at once really hinders the stories progress, also suffering is the disappointingly underdeveloped villain, The Asset. A cold and brutal presence, Asset is given precious scraps to feed off and is reduced to simply wordlessly killing people. He appears like a throwaway character added at the last second.
Greengrass does resurrect Jason Bourne during its final act set in Las Vegas. When he does car chases, there is no one else who nails them better and watching car fly and a SWAT vehicle plow through a casino is vintage Bourne. Overall this film does tie itself in well the with the other films but cannot escape being trapped in their shadow. Bourne is still a character who can make us pay attention and he still breaks bones and thinks fast like no other, but this time, it just feels formulaic. Part of us wonders whether this character really needed another outing when he was sitting pretty after a hat trick of great adventures. The plot has its merits and brings forward some potent theories over how much power the feds should really hold with their surveillance? However, you feel maybe too much is happening at once and before long our attention starts to slip. If the final moments are to be believed then Damon's finest character will see another outing, question really is how much do we really want this?
Matt Damon again is great in this part and the principle strength of this franchise has been his ability to walk the line in between conflicted killer and living by a complex code. Bourne has been his greatest hour, but in his fourth outing, this just feels like he is going through the motions. Damon can surprise us with his character's quick thinking and still show great smarts when the pressure is building, but now is maybe the time to put this to bed. Tommy Lee Jones is required to do little more than stand there looking grumpy as Dewey. One of the really great presence's of cinema today, Jones is unable to really bring anything else to the screen other than just giving orders. Similarly stranded is the immensely talent Alicia Vikander who is asked little more than to speak in basically a monotone. With this caliber of cast, they should have made far more with the talent on screen and this feel like a missed opportunity.
Jason Bourne was perhaps not the wisest sequel that will be released in 2016, but while it doesn't quite hit the mark set by the original trio, it still poses some interesting arguments over our freedoms.
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