See Bourne for the action
Jason Bourne (M, 123mins)
Here’s a piece of advice for anyone who, like me, has long been awaiting the return of Jason Bourne: it may be time to lower your expectations.
Don’t get me wrong – Jason Bourne is a perfectly entertaining action flick, featuring all the bells and whistles (and car chases and fight scenes) that Bourne fans have come to expect.
But it just doesn’t compare to the original trilogy. There’s really not much of a story here because, well, there’s not a lot left to tell about Jason Bourne.
This film marks Matt Damon’s fourth appearance as Robert Ludlum’s amnesiac spy, following The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) (there’s also 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, a sort-of spinoff that didn’t feature Damon).
Apparently, we still don’t have Bourne’s whole back story, so this film explores some family ties and how he got recruited to the Treadstone project in the first place.
That info comes from Bourne’s old ally Nicky Parsons, (Julia Stiles), who has hacked into the CIA’s Black Ops files.
Bourne, meanwhile, still plagued by guilt and flashbacks, has been lying low and making a living in an underground fight circuit in Europe. The two meet up during a riot in Greece (as you do) but lo and behold, the CIA is tracking Parsons and now sets its sights on Bourne. And so, the chase begins once again.
Tommy Lee Jones is stellar as the ruthless new CIA director Robert Dewey, determined to catch Bourne and ‘‘put him down’’ with the help of an even more ruthless assassin known simply as ‘‘the asset’’ (Vincent Cassel).
The hi-tech duties of tracking Bourne down are left to Dewey’s protege, Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), though she’s more keen to bring Bourne back into the fold than take him out.
Technology plays a big role in this Bourne edition, and there’s an entire subplot dedicated to the CIA’s dodgy dealings with a social media service intended to give them ‘‘full spectrum surveillance’’.
But it’s the jam-packed action scenes that are the real standout, with returning director Paul Greengrass once again using his jittery style to great dramatic effect on everything from brutal fight scenes to a showdown on the streets of Vegas.
Was it worth the nine-year wait? Nope. But it is nice to have Bourne back – even if he’s not at his best. Christina Kuntz