Sunday, December 03, 2017

Movie review - "Jason Bourne" (2016) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

The Bourne films set the agenda for modern day spy movies with their sense of realism and fast pace, and the first four movies were strong, but this one is a disappointment despite the return of Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass.

Technically it's fine - it looks polished, the action is solid. I think the biggest problem is the story - there's nothing new about it. So much of it feels familiar - the head baddy behind a headset following Bourne (Tommy Lee Jones instead of Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, Ed Norton) who clashes with a female (Alicia Vikander instead of Joan Allen), a girl who likes him being killed in the opening sequence (Julia Stiles instead of Fanka Potente), Bourne being chased by a super assassin (Victor Cassell instead of Clive Owen), Bourne forcing a woman to drive, a sequence where Bourne meets someone in London who winds up killed.

I was excited by the idea of Bourne learning more about his past but we just learn that his father started Treadstone and was killed... it just gives him an excuse to go an kill people). The stuff about government oversight into privacy on line is boring. Why do spy movies try to get political? I really wish they'd tied it in to events of the fourth movie - a Jeremy Renner/Matt Damon cross over would've been awesome.

It lacks emotion and boldness - there was really no reason to make this film except money. I know you could've said that about all of them, but the first three sequels all tried  in places to be different and this doesn't.

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