Review of Jason Bourne (2016) by Bill B — 21 Aug 2016

Hollywood has officially run out of ideas. It's an overused refrain that we hear endlessly. But after the summer glut of 2016, I'm finally giving in and starting to agree. Or at least with the more accurate statement that Hollywood refuses to take risks and refuses the new ideas invested upon it by enterprising new directors and screenwriters. (And that's why many have defected to premium and cable television.) Proving this fact is the existence of yet ANOTHER Bourne film, a completely unnecessary sequel to a trilogy of solid, intelligent action films that redefined the spy genre. But no one liked (or remembered) The Bourne Legacy's attempt at a spinoff franchise following Jeremy Renner and his magic pills so it's back to the drawing board. And by the drawing board, I mean just produce another generic Bourne sequel starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass. Specifically, Jason Bourne remakes The Bourne Supremacy for mixed results. It is terrible? No. Is it better than The Bourne Legacy? Easily. Does it compare to Identity or Ultimatum? FUCK. NO.

The plot and action beats are exactly what one expects having watched any of the four previous entries. So it comes down to a game of performances and judging the set pieces. Matt Damon is the reason this whole enterprise exists and one has to give credit for his complete physical and emotional commitment to the role. Julia Stiles has been treated like garbage by this franchise and it's a complete shame, as she proves a good match for Damon's Bourne and you have to wonder what could have been if this series ever wanted to give more humanity to its droll, miserable characters. Tommy Lee Jones does well as the generic/evil CIA director of the week and proves that he should play the villain more often. Alicia Vikander steals the show at times, though I suspect this was by design. Hollywood does love to shove its new "It Girls" in your face every third movie until you can't fucking stand them. The action is, needless to say, above average, and while "shaky cam" has become a persona non grata in recent years it was Greengrass helming Bourne that codified its use and did it best, and therefore it gets a pass. An action scene early on during a violent protest in Greece stood out, but the Vegas car chase bordered a bit on cartoonish antics. So yes, it's a passable sequel to a great trilogy that has been effectively ruined by studio greed, but you knew that already. And since we are essentially turning this into a rental franchise, can we finally get Bourne to do something different and you know...kill the fuck out of terrorists or something? Having Jason Bourne murder the ever living shit out of ISIS for two hours would be more enjoyable than another heavy-handed diatribe about the CIA and conspiracy theory bullshit. It's time to move on people. The rest of the world already has.