Review – Jason Bourne
There is a line in Jason Bourne where Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is talking to former C.I.A operative and confidant Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) about the new government threat, Iron Hand. Bourne wants to know why Parson’s has taken him out of hiding to stop Iron Hand.
Parsons: “It matters. Everything matters.”
Bourne: “Not to me it doesn’t.”
These lines perfectly summarize Jason Bourne. This movie doesn’t matter. The only people this movie matters to is the studio and maybe Matt Damon. It’s an unnecessary entry in the Bourne series and one that can legitimately be considered a cash-grab film.
With that being said, the movie is still pretty badass.
The movie takes place years after The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Jason Bourne is in hiding, Treadstone is dismantled, and the C.I.A is now being run by a young hotshot (Alicia Vikander) and old veteran (Tommy Lee Jones). When Bourne finds out information about his past, he is forced to come out of hiding to uncover these truths while also figuring out what Iron Hand is.
Matt Damon isn’t at his best in this movie. He has about 42 words of dialog and then does is usual ass-kicking. He isn’t horrible, but he’s been better, both as an actor and as Jason Bourne. Alicia Vikander is a Hollywood gem and continues her string of solid performances. Her American accent broke a few times, but I didn’t care. Tommy Lee Jones is Tommy Lee Jones and I really liked Vincent Cassel as The Asset.
Director Paul Greengrass returns as director and continues the Parkinson’s-style he brought to Supremacy (2004) and Ultimatum. The camera never stops moving, giving the fight scenes an extra aspect of realism we have seen before while also making us mildly nauseous. I also thought the editing in the film was some of the best of series. It was at a rapid fire pace and cut very cleanly, helping the shaky camera not look as shaky as before.
The one major thing this movie was missing was a truly awesome hand-to-hand fight. In Supremacy and Ultimatum, they had these scenes and they were extraordinary. Jason Bourne does have a big fight scene, but it is minimal compared to what we are used to seeing. It was very underwhelming, especially with who Bourne was fighting. It should have been longer and more brutal. To quote the great Teddy K.G.B from another Matt Damon movie, Rounders (1998), the fight was, “Very disappointing. Like a young a man coming in for a quickie.”
Jason Bourne is just another unnecessary sequel released by Hollywood. While it does have some cool action scenes and set pieces, it had no right to be made. There isn’t a great performance, there isn’t a great fight scene, there isn’t anything great about this movie. Jason Bourne should just go back into hiding.
MY RATING – 2.5/4
Did you see Jason Bourne? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or look for Kevflix on Facebook.