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    Jason Bourne

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    “Jason Bourne” is an ok film. I’m glad I saw it. It entertained me and there are many good things about it, but as a follow-up to “The Bourne Ultimatum”, even as a chapter in the series in general, it’s a letdown. It’s too familiar. This is the kind of picture that I wouldn’t go out of my way to own on Home video, but I could theoretically wind up buying one day if a “Complete Bourne” Blu-ray Box set became on sale. “Wow! Four great movies I only currently own on DVD? That’s a good deal. Oh, and that OTHER Matt Damon Jason Bourne movie. Sure, why not. ”

    After exposing Operation Blackbriar, Jason Bourne (Damon) disappeared. He makes a living by taking part in extremely short illegal fighting ring matches when Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) contacts him. She’s been hacking into the CIA’s black ops programs and has discovered new information about Bourne’s past. Discovering the security breach, CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), CIA cyber head Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) and an unnamed agent (Vincent Cassel as the Asset) take aim at our hero.

    When I re-watched “The Bourne Identity”, I found the ending very definitive. The sequel surprised me by delivering a story that was worth it. After the third picture, once again, I felt that it was over and I welcomed the franchise’s decision to focus on different characters in “The Bourne Legacy”. Now, we’re back to following Bourne and I feel that there’s an overall lack of originality. This picture is essentially the best of #2 and #3 shuffled together. It begins with Jason doing his own thing when he gets pulled back into the fray. He’s digging into his past, the higher-ups at the CIA want to cut him down. Bourne has to worry about an agent from the same program that spawned him but the REAL bad guy sits comfortably in the background, biding his time. Once again, he’s at it solo, save for a few scenes where a sympathizer from the CIA gives him some leeway. I was excited when Nicky was brought back into the story, but she’s only in the picture for a little bit and what they do with her, I felt like it was a waste.

    What frustrates and disappoints me about “Jason Bourne” is that there are times where it IS doing new things. When you learn why the Asset holds a personal grudge against Bourne, you get pumped. Is the film going to delve into the ramifications of exposing Blackbriar? That’s real-world stuff, the kind of consequences I like to see in these kinds of realistic spy films. There’s a subplot about online privacy rights (actor Riz Ahmed is prominently featured there) and that’s exciting stuff. It’s relevant to today and fits hand-in-hand with all of this spy business but it isn’t directly tied to Bourne’s past, a mine that we’ve gone down time and time again to the point that I feel like it’s completely dried up. Even the introduction of Nicky, who’s now gone from runaway agent to full-on hacktivist is promising, but none of these are more than details in what is otherwise a story we’ve seen before. I did find it exciting to see the car chases and the fights. The performers are all good and I was kept guessing all the way to the end.

    I also feel that the franchise has diverged too much from its roots with this one. The action sequences are too big, the body count is too high. The reason I liked the first three pictures was because they were small and personal, even in the action sequences. Here it’s front-page worthy, it’s explosive, it’s loud and action packed! Not bad qualities, but not what I wanted to see.

    I don’t discourage you from seeing “Jason Bourne”. It’s not a bad film and you will find things to like about it, maybe even like a lot. Unfortunately, it’s not good enough to be a sequel to “The Bourne Ultimatum”. This picture is simply an effort to keep a money making franchise alive, but I think its time has passed. (Theatrical version on the big screen, August 25, 2016)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  31.8.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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