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Jason Bourne

by 22 Comments

Year: 2016
Director: Paul Greengrass

I’ll come clean before I start, I adore the Bourne films. We’ve made sure were at the first night for all of them (except for ‘Legacy’, the one that Matt Damon is not in, which is also a cracking film.) However, unlike a mate of mine, I have no relationship with the books. So, when said mate starts to pick holes in scripts or plots, I can happily stick metaphorical fingers in my ears and ‘la, la, la’ to my hearts content.
The newest one in the series finally sees Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass back in harness, each of them having said that the other one would be the only reason they would do another film. Greengrass has co-written the script for this and, to be honest, there is no director currently operating that is better at this kind of tense, fast-moving, action blockbuster. He is a master of his craft.
This adventure has all the familiar Bourne hallmarks – a tense plot, strong acting from the great cast, brutal, epic fight sequences and a car chase that is one of the best ever filmed.
Tommy Lee Jones plays the grizzled, gnarly CIA Director, perfectly. There is a side plot involving a Facebook type social media company and it’s billionaire owner that is used, finally, to get all of the characters to Las Vegas for the huge ending. There is also a plot-twist that beautifully ties in the previous films and made me gasp, plus a terrific ending that made me smile, just the way that line from one of the earlier films, “Get some rest, Pam. You look tired,” did.
Already, after just one viewing, it is up there with the best of the genre, and the best of the Bournes. A cracker.

Might appeal to people who enjoyed:

Any of the previous Bournes, Daniel Craig era Bonds

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Comments

  4. I thought it was horrible. It is essentially a repeat of Bourne 2 and 3 only edited faster, shot slightly too close-up and with more of the caffeine-overdose hand-held wobble. I would like to give you the numbers on the wobble factor but my wobbleometer broke after ten minutes.

    The script is from the “say what you see” school of exposition, in case you are in the kitchen and can’t see the screen. ‘The asset is on the roof!’, ‘Team A is fifteen secods from extraction!’ and so on. You could call it “honed if you were feeling charitable – it does just enough to get us through to the next scene.

    To be fair, and presumably in an effort to cover every viewer eventuality, every plot point is reinforced with a useful on-screen graphic, in case you are watching it but with the sound off. Look – a progress bar to show how many firewalls are left to be cracked! Look – a map with everyone’s location!

    And nearly every one of those scenes feels like it was lifted from a previous instalment, made slightly less enjoyable and plonked into this film.

    It’s all tied together with some on-trend “Facebook* is giving all your recipes to the CIA” message, sadly undermined by some misunderstandings of how computers work. I didn’t see the end because, reader, it gave me a migraine.

  6. FWIIW, I saw the early showing at my local multi screen cinema yesterday. First day off in a week, the lovely Carol at work earning a crust, just me, Jason Bourne & a coffee. What could be better?

    I thought it was a terrific film. Escapist tosh? – most certainly, but superb action sequences that never let up from the off. I thought the cast were uniformly excellent, in particular Matt Damon, Vincent Cassels & Tommy Lee Jones.

    For a simple, easily pleased soul like myself, this film was just about as good as it gets. If you think you might like it, then you almost certainly will.

    Great film (and a great review niallb).

  7. I’ve only seen the first one, but I think my problem is that all that menace is meant to be encapsulated by Matt Damon, a man who conveys all the threat of Postman Pat.

  9. Just started watching them this week. Had seen the first one years ago but had clearly blanked the more preposterous elements of the action as I wound up yelping in disbelief a couple of times.

    Now considering seeing the latest in the cinema instead of projected on to the wall at home.
    Probably won’t though. I make really good popcorn.

  10. Unknown is good and similar to the Jason Bourne films , great car chases / slightly implausible plot etc but didn’t attract much attention.
    Although I think , it possibly started Liam neeson off on his series of action films .

  12. Have just returned from watching it. As ever, it’s just a great thrill ride, tension tightly wound throughout, inexplicably complex tech sorted by sleight of hand and typing random keys, and above all, Bourne’s fatalistic, weary melancholy and sheer indestructibility. All the familiar tropes are in there, but it’s utterly gripping from the off.

  13. Saw it last night. Minimoles all gripped as it’s like an express train from the off. The tech stuff is absolutely hilarious – huge progress bars with likely dialogue boxes like ‘Installing Malware 80% complete’ written in 85 point caps so we get it. Random and urgent key jabbing solves all. Needs to be seen on the big screen as it evaporates as soon as you leave the cinema. Yes wobblemeter is at 110% and no edit is longer than a couple of seconds. Tommy Lee Jones is so craggy and deep-voiced he’s like a Spitting Image puppet of himself voiced by Orson Welles, and does what passes for proper acting. Far rather see this 10 times over than Suicide Squad.

  14. And courtesy of The Vulture here’s Jason Bourne’s entire 288 words

    Most of the time, Bourne is here to ask the questions:

    What has that got to do with me?
    Watching me?
    What’s wrong?
    It doesn’t make any sense. Why?
    Why?
    Why was he killed?
    Why!?
    Who killed him?
    Where is he?
    Where’s Dewey going?
    What’s Iron Hand?
    Why would you do that?
    What is it you want?

    Though he also likes to take charge:

    Stay low!
    Hold on!
    Don’t move!
    Everything on the table.
    Open it.
    Paddington Plaza, fifteen minutes.
    Drive!
    Let me out.
    Let me think about it.
    The next bullet’s in your head!
    We’ve gotta get out of here before the police cut off this part of the city.
    You were never here.

    He’s a little fixated on his father, sometimes in the form of a question.

    He was an analyst. He wasn’t in operations. He wasn’t near any of that stuff.
    Beirut. I went there to tell him that Treadstone had approached me. But if that was his program, why didn’t he say anything to me?
    You followed me to Beirut, the last time I saw my father. Why would they have you follow me?
    That was the day he was killed. They said he was killed by terrorists. He wasn’t killed by terrorists, was he?
    I volunteered because I thought our enemies killed him. I volunteered because of a lie.

    And he’s not great with women.

    Nicky!
    Hold on, Nicky! I’m gonna get you to cover.
    They tracked you.
    She’s dead.
    You exploited her.

    Sometimes, he just needs to express himself.

    I remember. I remember everything.
    I told you, Christian Dassault is going to get you killed.
    I’m coming.
    I know about Beirut. I know what you did. It all ends tonight.
    I’m not on your side.
    I’ll see you in Vegas.
    I tried to find another way.
    He can’t, not for you.
    I can’t, not for you.

    But, at least he has a life philosophy …

    Not to me it doesn’t. All that matters is staying alive. You get off the grid, you survive.

    … and a keen sense of irony?

    This is Jason Bourne. I need to talk.

    http://www.vulture.com/2016/07/examining-matt-damons-45-lines-in-jason-bourne.html

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