It's been nine years since we last saw Jason Bourne discover his real name and expose the secret CIA program Blackbriar. He's back, and this time he's facing a new assassin, the head of the CIA, and the expansive reach of technology in the landscape of international espionage and warfare. As you might have guessed, this is pretty much the plot of all the other films in the series, and the latest edition, the not so creatively titled Jason Bourne, doesn't do much to convince us that we needed another.
Bourne (Matt Damon) is trying to remain off the grid somewhere in eastern Europe, fighting in a sort of gypsy boxing circuit. (For someone trying to hide from the world, it seems odd that winning money by constantly pummeling opponents wouldn't lead to exposure, but that is just one of many inconsistencies and plot problems in the film.) He eventually sees his old ally, Nicki Parsons (Julia Stiles), who has stolen government files on yet another assassination program, labeled Ironhand, and needs Bourne's help in evading top officials, CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) and head of cyber-intelligence Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander). Bourne learns from the files that his father played a key role in developing the original ops program, and that the CIA is secretly working in conjunction with a major Silicon Valley technology firm, helmed by Aaron Kallor (Riz Ahmed), to spy on American citizens and potential terror threats. Bourne must expose the collusion before government agents try to shut him up for good.
Jason Bourne has everything we've come to expect: the nausea-inducing camerawork from director Paul Greengrass (does the camera need to jerk violently while people are simply walking calmly down a hallway?), the distant, pensive looks from Damon, the fogged-lens flashbacks, and the demolition derby car chases. And everything here is just...fine. I didn't expect much, but I did expect something at least slightly different. But many points in the film are almost exact beats from others in the series. What surprised me most about watching this film, however, was that I honestly found myself thinking on several occasions, "This is actually quite boring. And I don't really care about any of these people."
Bourne's hair is starting to gray, but there really isn't much more to him. We begin to learn about his father, but at this point, after four films and endless file-stealing, country-hopping, gadget-wielding, and butt-kicking, are we that surprised there's a familial connection? This isn't exactly revealing the Skywalker family tree. Damon does enough to convince us that he's tough, but he does seem a step slower, and somehow instead of older and wiser, he's just older and kind of annoying. Tommy Lee Jones feels like a cardboard cut-out and isn't given nearly enough to do. And Vikander seems too young and elegant for her role, lacking a world-weary and slightly edgy persona that someone needs to track a superspy like Bourne. (Her inability to pull off a basic American accent perhaps bothered me most, but that's probably my own pet peeve.) We are told at the end that she is the new generation, that espionage and the technology that comes with it is a young person's game. But I never got the feeling that she has the toughness to do what she does.
The film knowingly nods toward current events as plot devices, from riots in Greece to government surveillance concerns, and there is a definite Snowden/Assange vibe to the last third of the screen time. But ultimately, it's about the people. And the whole Bourne universe feels like it's run its course. There's nothing really wrong with Jason Bourne, but there isn't a whole lot right either. I left the theater wondering what other titles were offered--mine would have been The Bourne Mediocrity.
Grade: C
Bourne (Matt Damon) is trying to remain off the grid somewhere in eastern Europe, fighting in a sort of gypsy boxing circuit. (For someone trying to hide from the world, it seems odd that winning money by constantly pummeling opponents wouldn't lead to exposure, but that is just one of many inconsistencies and plot problems in the film.) He eventually sees his old ally, Nicki Parsons (Julia Stiles), who has stolen government files on yet another assassination program, labeled Ironhand, and needs Bourne's help in evading top officials, CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) and head of cyber-intelligence Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander). Bourne learns from the files that his father played a key role in developing the original ops program, and that the CIA is secretly working in conjunction with a major Silicon Valley technology firm, helmed by Aaron Kallor (Riz Ahmed), to spy on American citizens and potential terror threats. Bourne must expose the collusion before government agents try to shut him up for good.
Jason Bourne has everything we've come to expect: the nausea-inducing camerawork from director Paul Greengrass (does the camera need to jerk violently while people are simply walking calmly down a hallway?), the distant, pensive looks from Damon, the fogged-lens flashbacks, and the demolition derby car chases. And everything here is just...fine. I didn't expect much, but I did expect something at least slightly different. But many points in the film are almost exact beats from others in the series. What surprised me most about watching this film, however, was that I honestly found myself thinking on several occasions, "This is actually quite boring. And I don't really care about any of these people."
Bourne's hair is starting to gray, but there really isn't much more to him. We begin to learn about his father, but at this point, after four films and endless file-stealing, country-hopping, gadget-wielding, and butt-kicking, are we that surprised there's a familial connection? This isn't exactly revealing the Skywalker family tree. Damon does enough to convince us that he's tough, but he does seem a step slower, and somehow instead of older and wiser, he's just older and kind of annoying. Tommy Lee Jones feels like a cardboard cut-out and isn't given nearly enough to do. And Vikander seems too young and elegant for her role, lacking a world-weary and slightly edgy persona that someone needs to track a superspy like Bourne. (Her inability to pull off a basic American accent perhaps bothered me most, but that's probably my own pet peeve.) We are told at the end that she is the new generation, that espionage and the technology that comes with it is a young person's game. But I never got the feeling that she has the toughness to do what she does.
The film knowingly nods toward current events as plot devices, from riots in Greece to government surveillance concerns, and there is a definite Snowden/Assange vibe to the last third of the screen time. But ultimately, it's about the people. And the whole Bourne universe feels like it's run its course. There's nothing really wrong with Jason Bourne, but there isn't a whole lot right either. I left the theater wondering what other titles were offered--mine would have been The Bourne Mediocrity.
Grade: C