Rapid Review: Jason Bourne (2016)

“Remembering everything doesn’t mean you know everything.”
– Nicky Parsons

SYNOPSIS: The CIA’s most dangerous former operative is drawn out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past. – via IMDB

Long have I waited for the new Jason Bourne movie after I heard it was coming. I am sure you all know that I absolutely adore the Bourne franchise. The trailers for this looked promising, and to be sure, I was not let down. Jason Bourne was exactly what you would expect from a Bourne film – it was fast paced, featured great action and solid performances, and keeps you riveted every step of the way. While the story was not as tight for this as it has been for its predecessors, this does not make for a bad watch. I liked the way that this movie covered some of the bigger events that have come to pass since Ultimatum, and it did so effectively. Matt Damon is, of course, Bourne, and he delivered every step of the way here. Greengrass returns for this, and gives us another solid film, but I feel that the shaky cam work here was more hectic than usual, and it has been the one thing I don’t love about these movies. I am not big on shaky cam. It works for this style of film, but sometimes it is just too much, and there were more than a few times I found the camera to just be too shaky in this one, causing me to miss much of the action, etc. I was also not a fan of that death (those of you who have seen this will know what I am talking about). I saw what happened and why, it’s just so sad for me, and so unnecessary, though I knew what she was doing. It was still a shocker. I do, of course, love the consistency of these movies, and to see the right actors/actresses reprise their roles, and the events of the past remembered correctly, that’s something I appreciate. It’s the small things, you know? Jason Bourne gave us another strong female lead with Alicia Vikander helming the role of Heather Lee, though I did find Vikander to be a little stiff, and not just because her character is. I think she was a little off here and out of place, though her character is one of interest. Vincent Cassel is our dangerous Asset, the villain on the ground here, and naturally he nails the role, he is so comfortable as the bad guy. Anyway, while Jason Bourne is not as brilliant as the original trilogy, it is a worthy addition to the franchise and one I will be adding to my collection. It ticks all the boxes for what you want from a Bourne film, and doesn’t stray too far from the formula, but at the same time stays away from being stale and boring. This movie gets more hate than it deserves.

While I know the car chase is considered cliché and all that, I still had a ton of fun with it!