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!

November Blind Spot Review: The Bourne Legacy (2012)

“Well, if you’re going to reprogram human genetic material, you need a delivery system, and nothing works better than virus. It’s like a suitcase.”
– Dr Marta Shearing

SYNOPSIS: Aaron Cross, a new hero, experiences life-or-death stakes that have been triggered by previous events. – via IMDB

Okay, there we have it. I have finally watched this. After putting it off for so long. Like, forever, because you can’t stamp “Bourne” over something but discard of Matt Damon. Honestly, that’s how I feel. Well, watching this I could think only that this isn’t necessarily a bad movie at all, it just suffers heavily from being cast under the Bourne banner. The movie spent a lot of time establishing that this was going down concurrently with The Bourne Ultimatum, though at a later stage it flicks to Jason escaping, again, Pam Landy being in a lot of trouble, and this story continuing independently. Which would be fine, except what this story was relying on was probably one of the thinnest thread in movie history. Like, really. There is so much potential here, and they got the meat of it down, just the implementation of it was messy. Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross was definitely not like Bourne. Well, trained, maybe, and sporting a great jacket, but aside from that? Totally different. Maybe that has to do with the fact that the original Cross, who was in actual fact Kenneth James Kitsom, was a little bit slower than your average person. Not saying this offensively, he just comes across as more caring, softer. He was emotional. Yes, he will do what it takes to get away and all that, but Marie was initially a necessity for Jason, and that grew into something. I suppose the same could be argued for Cross and Marta Shearing, but it really isn’t the same. The logic didn’t quite follow as cleanly in this installment to the Bourne franchise. Case in point? When the “psychiatrist” started yelling, Marta should have realised something was amiss. One thing that really was super sad for me was seeing Kitsom before he became Cross. It was depressing and sad, and raised a whole bunch of other questions for me. Such as, if he was 12 points shy of the minimum requirement for the US Army, surely that means that he is not legally allowed to consent to them experimenting on him? I mean, if he cannot legally join the military, surely he cannot legally tell them to create a super soldier out of him? Just saying. Interesting avenue to explore right there. I found Cross to be quite endearing towards Marta, and Weisz and Renner worked well together. Renner was a great Cross, and I enjoyed his character quite a bit. There is potential to work with there. I think the biggest downfall of this is that Cross’s story feels like it was shoved in between Bourne’s stuff, to introduce him, but it was done sloppily, and his whole story was a giant thing of survive and get the drugs. No more, no less. I felt as if the exhilaration of the previous three films was missing here. Yeah, action involved for sure, but nothing that really thrills. Small gripe from me, too, is that there were times were there were very awkward attempts at subtle humour. As I said, not necessarily an awful film, it’s just not really a Bourne film. I suppose, like The Godfather: Part III, if you look at it as something that does not belong to the canon, then it isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. But if you compare it to its namesake, it will fall quite short of the mark.

 

Rapid Review: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

“This is Jason Bourne, the toughest target that you have ever tracked. He is really good at staying alive, and trying to kill him and failing… just pisses him off.”
– Pamela Landy

SYNOPSIS: Bourne is once again brought out of hiding, Jason Bourne is now hunted by the people who made him what he is–legendary assassin. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was. – via IMDB

Ah, Jason! Just as you think the story is over, a way is found for Jason to be back in the cross-hairs of the United States Government – and really, where else would we want him? Well, for our entertainment at least. The Bourne Supremacy features more shaky cam than I would like, and the end, while brilliant, is a little bit saddening because it took away the whole conspiracy aspect if he made the choice himself, doesn’t it? Matt Damon, of course, was simply excellent here, though we expect nothing less. Joan Allen returns as Pamela Landy, and she still is a wonderful person to hunt Bourne. She is definitely not like the others though, and has a totally different view of Bourne, and I highly appreciate it. Little bits and pieces of Jason Bourne/David Webb’s story come about, and it just continues to ensnare, interest and entertain. The movie is fast paced and thrilling, with a super smart story and excellent performances to carry it. David Strathairn’s Noah Vosen was such a crooked dude, and so necessary for the story. I loved the strife between him and Pam, it was intense, and at extreme opposites to the relationship that has been forged between Pam and Bourne. Nicky Parsons got some more time in this outing, and that was also pretty good. The movie is shot exceptionally well, the performances are spot on, visually the film is great and that choreography? Again absolutely mesmerizing. The Bourne Ultimatum proves why the Bourne trilogy (and yes, people, in my mind it is a trilogy only) is so successful – each installment is equally as gripping and entertaining, and they are all smart. I had an absolute blast revisiting this franchise, it has been well worth the time.

Rapid Review: The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

“What were my words? What did I say? I said leave me alone.”
– Jason Bourne

SYNOPSIS: When Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive. – via IMDB

Sequel time! The Bourne movies are some of the few movies that remain excellent… well, the original Damon trilogy at any rate. The Bourne Supremacy continues that line of brilliance of its predecessor. Opens to show us the sweet little life Marie and Jason have built together on the run, and when that is snatched away from them, it is genuinely a bitter experience. From there, things just escalate. The plot was another solid one, and the performances all round were excellent. Karl Urban was an enjoyable enemy to stand opposite Jason, and they could really go each other. We see more about Jason Bourne, the man that he was, the man that he has become, and how he desperately wants nothing more to do with the US Government, but apparently they are not done with him. The film takes its time to pace itself, which is something I have always appreciated about these films, and Bourne is just such an amazing character. I love how dark and brooding and incredibly smart he is, it works on so many levels. Also, his jackets in this movie… wow. Let me just have my fetish moment. Matt Damon was, of course, in fine form here, reminding me as always why Bourne is one of my favourite Damon roles. I thought Landy was a great pick to hunt Bourne, she was totally different from Conklin but it worked, definitely not a bad thing. I thought the movie was shot well, though at times I felt that the shaky cam effect was overused, as instead of pulling you into the action, it just gives you a headache and a dizzy spell. I don’t actually have any complaints here, the movie is gripping, thrilling, smart and entertaining with fantastic choreography – everything you’d expect from a Bourne film.

Rapid Review: The Bourne Identity (2002)

“You’re U.S. Government property. You’re a malfunctioning $30 million weapon. You’re a total goddamn catastrophe, and by God, if it kills me, you’re going to tell me how this happened.”
– Conklin

SYNOPSIS: A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and regain his memory. – via IMDB

I love Jason Bourne. Seriously. I love these movies. I have always enjoyed them. Plus, Matt Damon. Because Matt Damon is amazing. But really, I wish I could express how exciting and brilliant I find these movies. Okay, okay, let’s move on to the movie itself. The Bourne Identity is one of those action movies that ticks all the boxes for me. It is smart, has a really good story, has a solid cast carrying it all, is directed well, looks fantastic and has brilliant choreography. The pacing is something I liked. No rush here, so sirree, it starts with Bourne in the ocean, shot, fished out, almost dead, and as Bourne learns about himself, so does the audience, and that is a fun thing. There is no rush, and when the action kicks in, you get swept up in this intense mystery of who the hell Jason Bourne is, and what he was before the amnesia kicked in. Matt Damon is just brilliant here. He delivers us Bourne and he nails it – the emotions are down, you identify with Jason and root for him, even though you know nothing about him at all, it doesn’t matter. Hell, even when you learn he was a super spy assassin, that doesn’t matter. Bourne is layered, and his blank-slate introduction made him someone you could identify with in a hurry, so they didn’t have to tell you too much. But you uncovered more and more about him and find ways to slot the new information in on the man you have discovered him to be without his memory. The story is also pretty sharp, definitely a solid spy-thriller and it doesn’t get old, either. The camera work is also something to be admired, something that transports you right into the events that are unfolding before your very eyes. The Bourne Identity is a solid movie, with a gritty, realistic hero, something I would highly recommend spending some time watching, as it is well worth it!