Robert Ludlum created Jason Bourne as one of modern literature’s most intriguing characters. Back on the big screen, but not based on a Ludlum book, Jason Bourne provides lots of dizzying action and a very serious ex-spy.
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Victor Cassel) – In the longest search for identity in history, Jason Bourne follows the ongoing exploits of this ex-CIA super-agent through Greece, Las Vegas, and a slew of countries in between. Matt Damon returns as the ingenious, lightning-quick, super-serious Bourne as he searches for the details of the death of his father years earlier in Beirut. Yes, there is more to know about David Webb, his indoctrination into the CIA, and his adoption of the Bourne identity. We learned quite a bit about Project Treadstone in previous films but there is always more to know in successful movie franchises.
The film opens with Bourne, perpetually in hiding, getting a message about CIA covert “black-ops” from trusty former friend/colleague-turned-whistleblower Nicky (Julia Stiles). The action erupts quickly as a CIA “asset” (played by Damon’s Ocean’s co-star Victor Cassel) hunts down Bourne with the help of the best technology the spy agency has at its disposal. While Bourne barely evades the “asset” early on (if he didn’t, the movie would be over, wouldn’t it?) the hunt ensues across the world, culminating in a chase up the Vegas Strip. That chase, which causes mayhem, murder, and mass vehicle collisions, covers Mandalay Bay to Bally’s before suddenly crashing through the now-demolished Riviera Hotel (though the Riv was nowhere near Bally’s).
The critical scenes occur in the convention center where the evil CIA director, Robert Dewey (played by Tommy Lee Jones), is set to appear on a panel with a Mark Zuckerberg-like social media mogul who believes in total transparency of information and who has a tenuous deal with the CIA. Here is the only place where Damon and Jones appear in a scene together. Who do you think prevails? Bourne or the old guy?
Yes, Damon is Bourne again! But after losing his girlfriend in an earlier movie and others as well, we need a new female interest in his life. That is provided by Heather Lee, a young, ambitious CIA operative who is on Bourne’s trail and who has the confidence of Dewey. Lee’s character is more complicated than most. She wants to bring Bourne back into the CIA fold but Dewey wants to make sure his block-ops stay private. That leaves us uncertain about Bourne’s future and Lee’s role in the next installment of the Bourne story.
Jason Bourne will give you just want you want: lots of action, plenty of cinema killing, and wrecked vehicles. On the negative side, director Paul Greengrass, a regular Damon collaborator (two Bourne films and Green Zone), uses dizzying, “shaky camera syndrome” to enhance the action. To me, that causes unnecessary audience vertigo so you might want to take Dramamine with you. This Bourne is also terribly sober. Damon never cracks a smile nor does Vikander. When Jones smiles, it means he is scheming and deceiving. Thus, Jason Bourne doesn’t pretend to be Bond on steroids. It is a frightfully serious spy-fest with tons of computer graphics, guns, and grit.