Jason Bourne

JASON BOURNE

Director : Paul Greengrass
Year : 2016
Genre : Action thriller
Rating : ***

''I remember everything''....

By the end of 2007's trilogy capping 'The Bourne Ultimatum', Matt Damon's amnesiac assassin had finally uncovered the truth surrounding his ruthless profession and, most significantly, his true identity. With an adrenaline fuelled finale and some damn fine writing, 'Ultimatum' bought to a close one of the most intriguing and inventive franchises in recent action movie history.

So now with this seemingly unnecessary reboot - the forgettable 2012 Jeremy Renner vehicle 'The Bourne Legacy' is totally ignored here - the question is, now that the focal mystery of the series has been solved, what exactly does the eponymously titled 'Jason Bourne' bring new to the table? Well, the answer is, sadly, not very much at all. Once again, Paul Greengrass directs this two hour long globetrotting spectacular that sees the silent but deadly Bourne flitting from country to country in search for the truth behind the suspicious death of his father and, as is to be expected, the many car chases and fistfights that ensue are shot and executed with expert precision - captured with the idiosyncratic 'shaky-cam' technique synonymous with the 'United 93' and 'Captain Phillips' helmsman. Anyone going into 'Jason Bourne' for the thrills and spills that the series has become so well known for will not be disappointed; with one standout sequence set in the middle of an Athenian anti-austerity riot proving to be one of the most intense and thoroughly entertaining things I have seen on the big screen this Summer.

But while the non-stop action certainly lives up to the legacy of it's it three genre-defining predecessors, the screenplay and the performances do not. Reduced to a series of incomprehensible grunts, growls and less than 40 lines of dialogue, Matt Damon's titular hero has been changed from a fascinating and empathetic focus into a dull as dishwater, trigger happy bore - almost indistinguishable from the many Statham and Neeson clones that were released in the wake of 'Bourne's critical and financial success while franchise regular Julia Stiles is sorely underused as the plucky and tenacious CIA operative Nicky Parsons. Newer faces include Alicia Vikander who makes the most of her limited role as a rookie agent desperate to Bring Bourne in while an increasingly stone-faced Tommy Lee Jones grumpily fills the shoes once worn by Brian Cox in previous entries as the grizzled Agency director desperate to bring Bourne down. Amongst the growing chaos, Riz Ahmed's ('Four Lions') well-meaning whizzkid Aaron Kaloor attempts to bring some form of unity to the world with his ''DeepDream'' application, a secretive technology whose stark promises of surveilliance-free security and online safety prophetically call to mind Snowden-esque cyber intrigue.

There's certainly a lot going on in 'Jason Bourne' - both literally and figuratively - and for it's 123 minute long running time, the movie barely leaves it's protagonist or it's audience with time to catch it's breath. But for all of it's pulsating thrills and eye-catching special effects, 'Jason Bourne' feels less like a 'Bourne' movie than the numerous Bonds that have followed in the franchises blood-drenched footsteps. It may be slick and it may be stylish but when compared to what came before it, 'Jason Bourne' is an undeniable disappointment. At the end of the aforementioned 'Ultimatum', our exhausted hero was seen breast stroking his way to freedom in New York's East River. Perhaps he should have followed Dory's immortal advice and just kept swimming....