I’m a trained assassin who has
stayed off the grid for years, but, man, a Vegas trip sure sounds nice. They
don’t have many camera’s there do they?
Jason Bourne starring Matt Damon,
Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel and directed by Paul
Greengrass. Jason Bourne is the fourth film in the franchise to star Matt Damon
and is a solid action flick, but lacks the compelling story the other three
movies had. Bourne is forced once again to match wits with the CIA, try to get
away and expose what they are doing. This time he goes up against a new breed
in Alicia Vikander’s character Heather Lee. Tommy Lee Jones plays the CIA
director Robert Dewey who still is trying to control and contain secret
programs which he thinks protect American lives.
The action in the movie is still
fantastic. If you have been a fan of the other three movies, the two directed
by Paul Greengrass in particular, you will enjoy the fourth installment.
Greengrass does use shaky cam action shots, but I think he does it well. If you
aren’t a fan of this type of action, you won’t enjoy much of Jason Bourne. I
never felt lost during an action shot. Greengrass still controls the camera so
the audience knows what is going on during a sequence. There are a few really
intense and well done action sequences, and I enjoyed all of them. The story
they tell to fit all of these action scenes in the film seems forced. The movie
suffers from bigger sequel syndrome; thinking the need to go bigger and better
with their car chases or fight scenes to make the movie stand out. For me what
has always made the Bourne movies great is the well told story coupled with the
good action. Make action on the exact same level, just tell a good story to go
along with it.
The performances are also all
good in the movie. Matt Damon is still great as the title character, and eases
right back into his role. Alicia Vikander steals the movie, though her try at
an American accent did bother me a little bit. If there is a reason to make
more Bourne movies she it. One aspect of the story that was well done was her
character. You never truly know what side she is on, and she is politically maneuvering
the entire film. Her interactions with Tommy Lee Jones are really good. Jones
turns in his standard performance. He by all accounts he isn’t a very nice individual
to work with, but he is a good actor. There is one scene in particular with
Vikander and Jones where his character has no dialogue, but just the acting he
does with his eyes says everything. You don’t need any dialogue for him to
convey what he is feeling and thinking.
The performance and action are
good enough to enjoy the film. Where the movie fails is in its overall story.
There has been a big time jump between the last Bourne film until now, and they
don’t do a good enough job of explaining what he has been up to. It is hinted
at, with the introduction of a character, but it leaves it as a mystery. The
first films where all about Bourne trying to find out his identity and how he
became the trained assassin. They try to give a compelling reason in this film for
him to find out why he joined treadstone, but it just didn’t mesh well for me. They
also shoehorn in another bad guy assassin. They give him more of a backstory
than any of other assassins in the previous films, but it isn’t needed. Vincent
Cassel does a good job in the role, but his backstory isn’t necessary for the
story to work. They should have completely left one part out, or changed Bourne’s
motivations for the film completely. The added backstory story tries to give
Cassel’s character motivation, but the main arch in the film does this already.
The decisions the character makes don’t make sense for a trained stealth assassin.
Like planning an operation in Las Vegas, and a few others during the final part
of the movie. This is where I think they felt they needed a bigger action set piece,
and a smaller one would have worked just as well and fit the story and
characters better.
Jason Bourne isn’t a bad film,
but it isn’t up to the level of the first three. It is sadly, a noticeable step
down in story from the previous movies. I still had a fun time watching it, and could
watch it again. If you a fan of the franchise this is a film is Worth Seeing,
and worth seeing in the theaters. If you think the previous movies have just been
okay, then you could wait for this to be available to rent.
Let me know what you think
of the newest Bourne film if you have seen it. What is your favorite action
scene from any of the movies? Mine is either the first car chase in the beat up
mini, or when he fought with a magazine. Comment and let me know
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