Jason Bourne (D+) Movie Review
Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne in the franchise's fifth installment. Here, Bourne is on the run from CIA Director Robert Dewey, played by Tommy Lee Jones, and uncovering secrets about himself and the CIA's top secret programs in the meanwhile.
Having only seen The Bourne Identity, I may have been a little lost during the film in terms of character and why these top-secret programs are so important. But Jason Bourne does something that sequels should never do; Jason Bourne assumes you're familiar with every other installment, never pausing to give you deeper character development or any idea of the events surrounding those depicted. It's frustrating, especially when director Paul Greengrass seems entirely concerned with delivering shaky cam "thrills."
I understand that Jason Bourne, the film, is here to provide some fun. But it's a generally sluggish effort, teeming with indecipherable action sequences and failing to connect the onscreen espionage with much of anything grounded in story. The film is fun when you understand these characters and the reasons behind their actions. But when even that is elusive, you've got a dud on your hands.
Matt Damon's near wordless performance carries some amount of weight. He's as good as he's ever been in a film that just doesn't rise to meet him. Despite some advertising, Bourne and Alicia Vikander's character CIA analyst(?) spend much of the film apart from each other so there's not a little of chemistry there, though there doesn't necessarily need to be. Vikander is good on her own, carrying a charismatic screen presence while barking orders to a room full of CIA computer geeks.
Paul Greengrass has distinguished himself as a solid action director. His thrilling Captain Phillips was one of 2013's best. But man, does he drop the ball on this one. Jason Bourne feels slapped together from pre-existing franchise elements and the most basic elements of the common spy film. And Greengrass' obsession with shaky cam is horribly obnoxious, verging on headache-inducing. He has no idea what to do with Vikander's character and even Jason Bourne feels adrift in this sea of numbing action. Greengrass' film is also a bit of a visual mess. The film's special effects are convincing enough but the end result is almost difficult to watch. The darn thing is so poorly edited in that you can't even focus your eye on one frame before it's gone.
Where Jason Bourne fails so miserably is in its treatment of character and its refusal to create characters beyond paper-thin caricatures that walk around, dodge bullets, and shoot guns. Jason Bourne's motivations are simple enough; he's trying to get more information. But there's not much more to Jason Bourne than a determination to get this information. He mourns the loss of his father but it's an underwhelming effort, only half-assed and forgotten easily. Tommy Lee Jones' character is driven by one goal, to stop Jason Bourne, producing one of the more uninteresting villains in recent memory.
With Jason Bourne, Universal Pictures serves up an obvious cashgrab. This is a film that feels solely concerned with action. Greengrass produces a couple genuinely involving and well-made action sequences but the end product is sloppy, and probably worst of all, moderately boring.
FINAL GRADE: D+
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief language
Having only seen The Bourne Identity, I may have been a little lost during the film in terms of character and why these top-secret programs are so important. But Jason Bourne does something that sequels should never do; Jason Bourne assumes you're familiar with every other installment, never pausing to give you deeper character development or any idea of the events surrounding those depicted. It's frustrating, especially when director Paul Greengrass seems entirely concerned with delivering shaky cam "thrills."
I understand that Jason Bourne, the film, is here to provide some fun. But it's a generally sluggish effort, teeming with indecipherable action sequences and failing to connect the onscreen espionage with much of anything grounded in story. The film is fun when you understand these characters and the reasons behind their actions. But when even that is elusive, you've got a dud on your hands.
Matt Damon's near wordless performance carries some amount of weight. He's as good as he's ever been in a film that just doesn't rise to meet him. Despite some advertising, Bourne and Alicia Vikander's character CIA analyst(?) spend much of the film apart from each other so there's not a little of chemistry there, though there doesn't necessarily need to be. Vikander is good on her own, carrying a charismatic screen presence while barking orders to a room full of CIA computer geeks.
Paul Greengrass has distinguished himself as a solid action director. His thrilling Captain Phillips was one of 2013's best. But man, does he drop the ball on this one. Jason Bourne feels slapped together from pre-existing franchise elements and the most basic elements of the common spy film. And Greengrass' obsession with shaky cam is horribly obnoxious, verging on headache-inducing. He has no idea what to do with Vikander's character and even Jason Bourne feels adrift in this sea of numbing action. Greengrass' film is also a bit of a visual mess. The film's special effects are convincing enough but the end result is almost difficult to watch. The darn thing is so poorly edited in that you can't even focus your eye on one frame before it's gone.
Where Jason Bourne fails so miserably is in its treatment of character and its refusal to create characters beyond paper-thin caricatures that walk around, dodge bullets, and shoot guns. Jason Bourne's motivations are simple enough; he's trying to get more information. But there's not much more to Jason Bourne than a determination to get this information. He mourns the loss of his father but it's an underwhelming effort, only half-assed and forgotten easily. Tommy Lee Jones' character is driven by one goal, to stop Jason Bourne, producing one of the more uninteresting villains in recent memory.
With Jason Bourne, Universal Pictures serves up an obvious cashgrab. This is a film that feels solely concerned with action. Greengrass produces a couple genuinely involving and well-made action sequences but the end product is sloppy, and probably worst of all, moderately boring.
FINAL GRADE: D+
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief language