Almost 10 years since his last adventure, Jason Bourne is back and this time it’s personal.
Proving exactly why you never mess with a professional, Bourne returns with more than just ammunition and skills, this time he has his memories, and that’s exactly what makes him most dangerous.
Those of you who have seen the previous Bourne films need no introduction to the series, but for those who haven’t, let me explain the basics. The Bourne series follows Jason Bourne (Matt Damon – The Martian, Saving Private Ryan), a CIA spy with incredible skills and instincts, but absolutely no memory. Under this premise, and the CIA hot on his heels, he is desperate for answers. After remembering everything, fast-forward 9 years from The Bourne Ultimatum and we have Jason Bourne. With his memory returning, though still not perfectly clear, Bourne goes in search of those who made his life what it is, with CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones – The Fugitive, Men In Black) at the top of that list, with Dewey desperate to get him first, as well as an asset with his own motives. As the search for Bourne is re-ignited, Heather Lee, desperate to climb to the top of the CIA, requests to lead the search, with conflicting approaches to that of Dewey as he over-sees the operation. Naturally, chaos ensues with fist-fights, epic evasions and cars taken to their breaking point.
Although the predecessor was not that long ago (2007), it was ended perfectly and considered one of the best trilogies ever made. Because of this, the announcement of the late sequel raised the increasingly common question of “Do they really need to make another one?” It also raised the question of “Where do they go with it this time?” considering the fact that the trilogy was about his unknown identity, to which it was found at the end. To put those questions to rest, you shouldn’t worry about either of these factors as they play into each other smoothly. Because of the fact that he knows his identity, it opened up so many possibilities for a sequel that it doesn’t ruin the concept of the trilogy, as well as allowing a different direction with similar traits to remain faithful to its acclaimed and popular style without feeling exactly the same.
As previously stated, the noticeable factor that makes this film feel slightly different from the others is that it establishes a different goal for Bourne, ultimately changing the presence of the end result. As the first three were about him searching for answers and any hint towards his identity, it produced an enigmatic mystery thrill-ride where we are alongside Bourne for the ride, with him slightly smarter than the audience. This time however he is completely aware of his identity and out for those who did him wrong, serving up an adrenaline fuelled revenge plot. Whilst these two do not sound much different, they acally feel noticeably different, however it still feels like a Bourne film. Very well done to the entire cast and crew.
What does make this film a Bourne film is it’s perfect acknowledgement as an action, thriller, spy film. To start it out, Bourne maintains his iconic one-step-ahead approach, consistently leaving you in envy of his skills and intelligence, which is what sets Bourne apart from the likes of James Bond. When you say ‘Bourne’ what often comes to mind is one of two scenes: Bourne jumping off of a building through an opposite window or Bourne beating up an enemy with a pen. Whilst these are not replicated, the adrenaline and impromptu fighting style is present again and is more than impressive. The final ingredient of a Bourne film is a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall car chase worthy of The Fast and The Furious, and that’s exactly how I would describe it.
Back in March when Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice was released, a huge topic of conversation was the fact that Clark Kent/Superman only had 43 lines throughout the entire film. Not only has this been topped, but has actually been annihilated by the amount of lines of Jason Bourne (or therefore lack of), almost halving it with only 25 lines. What makes this so good is the same reason the entire Bourne series is fantastic in the fact that it proves actions speak louder than words. Bourne has always been most effective as a character who doesn’t need to talk to make his point, and when he is talking a lot, you know it’s serious.
Directing The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, Green Zone) takes a crack at writing and directing Jason Bourne, with great success. Co-written with debut writer Christopher Rouse (Oscar winning editor – The Bourne Ultimatum), the history that the two have with the franchise allowed them to grasp the depth and style that they need to maintain to keep it ‘Bourne’, instead of it becoming yet another action film.
Matt Damon is at the top of his game at the moment, with an Oscar worthy performance in The Martian, another space exploration in Interstellar and sci-fi flick Elysium, he is sure to maintain this streak in his upcoming historical thriller, The Great Wall. As already stated, Damon does an incredible job of only having 25 lines with engaging and emotive actions and expressions, showing that he can do virtually anything. New to the series, Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) impressively throws herself straight in amongst the drama with targets in mind, causing you to question her motives, delivering an impressive performance. Also new are Riz Ahmed and Vincent Cassel. Returning to the series are Tommy Lee Jones and Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You, Silver Linings Playbook), reprising their crucial roles and proving their places in the franchise.
Working together to compose the soundtrack are John Powell (The Bourne Trilogy, Green Zone) and David Buckley (The Nice Guys, The Town), and they do not disappoint. With this previous experience of the franchise, Powell was pretty much set on how to approach this, getting it spot on, but none-the-less made the most of having the assistance of Buckley to create an atmospherically pulse-pounding soundtrack.
It may be 9 years later, but it’s better late than never and it’s not to be missed! Full of beat ups, bullets and brains, Jason Bourne is the action hit of the summer, doing it’s franchise justice!
8.4/10
Watch the trailer here: