Jason Bourne

The original Bourne trilogy of Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum were brilliant displays in effective storytelling and great action. Jason Bourne, however, isn't quite as proficient in both of those areas. On the one hand, it's action-packed to the brim, and provides for a hugely entertaining watch, but on the other, it's a disappointment as far as bringing yet another intriguing and truly thrilling mystery to life is concerned.

Let's start on the bright side, however, with the action. Paul Greengrass does yet another sterling job at directing some hugely exciting action sequences (including a thrilling chase in Athens that harks back to Ultimatum's Tangier chase), and in tandem with yet another excellent performance by Matt Damon as Jason Bourne himself, the action is definitely the best part of this film.

Where the story lacks, Jason Bourne more often than not gives you some insane action to revel at. Sure, it's not the work of storytelling geniuses, but if you're the sort of person who can turn their brain off for two hours and watch wall-to-wall action and explosions, then this film will have you in dreamland. It's not a Michael Bay movie, and Greengrass' style lends a lot to making more vibrant action sequences, but there's no doubt that fans of big action will love this film.

On the whole, I did enjoy this film, and I was able to recognise its flaws and just watch it as a big blockbuster. However, I can't escape feeling disappointed at the film's total failure to tell as intriguing a story as the first three films in the series.

The enthralling mysteries and gradual revelations about Jason Bourne's past were what really separated this series from any other spy thriller. In this movie, however, everything felt a lot more generic, with a much bigger emphasis on action than clever storytelling and patient, gradual character and plot development. Unfortunately, it's that that makes Jason Bourne look pale in comparison to the original trilogy, and those who are expecting yet another engrossing and intelligent thriller will certainly be disappointed.

That said, there are bright moments in the story too. It's not a horrifically dull film, and there are a few details that relate right the way back to The Bourne Identity. What's more is that Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones all put in very strong performances to add a degree of gravitas to what is in truth a very clichéd and repetitive story, which was good to see.

Overall, I am disappointed by Jason Bourne, in that it doesn't manage to tell such an enthralling and intelligent mystery as the series' original trilogy, but its top-quality action and strong directing and performances still allowed me to have a lot of fun for two hours.

The bad: this (final?) edition of the Bourne series is an inferior mashup of all the ingredients found in the much better original first movie.

They are using the exact same story, same situations, same music, same plot turns etc... I was contineously wondering when the "new" movie would start? It wouldnt though. This movie is simply nothing else but a100% COPY PASTE operation from older material. Bummer.

Surely not terribly bad as a movie on itself, but certainly the worst (or one of the worst) Bourne edition ever, because it is missing good creative writing. It is missing spark. It is missing real suspense.

Not any good at all? The leading actors (Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel and Alicia Vikander) all deliver solid acting performances. It is THEY who prevent this movie from becoming a dud.

The chase sequences are great as well. There are only 2 of them, which are both quite thrilling to watch though. So it's not all bad for sure...hence the 6 stars...

Many of the old fans have been yearning for a sequel for years...me included, but you cant always get what you want... because you cant always revive the glorious past.

Better watch the very first Bourne movie instead and you'll be surprised how strong that movie still stands till this very day!

Lacklustre story line lacking intelligence, dialogue, and character development.

I am a big fan of the franchise and my expectations may have been too high for this sequel. Was hoping for same kind of substance and kept waiting for something impressively unexpected, like previous. Legacy was a better film. Even fight scenes and car chases from all previous had a different "feel" than typical action films, but formula made these redundant and confusing, not fun like others. The predictable plot had me thinking, hoping for intelligent twist that did not happen. It's a good rental I suppose.

Jason Bourne makes a welcome return in the self titled Jason Bourne, although this movie is not in the same league as The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). The Bourne Legacy (2012) saw the movie go in another direction with Jeremy Renner in the lead instead of Matt Damon however this was met with disappointing results. Jason Bourne sees Matt Damon slip back into one of his famous roles albeit some time has since passed.

Following the events of The Bourne Ultimatum which saw Jason Bourne slipping away after successfully exposing Operation Blackbriar, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) lives off the grid and makes a living participating in illegal bare knuckle fighting rings. Bourne is still troubled by memories of his past as a CIA black ops operative. Meanwhile in Iceland, former CIA operative turned computer hacker Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) uncovers Bourne's recruitment into the Treadstone program and his father's role in the program while hacking into the CIA's mainframe systems to expose the CIA's black ops program. The intrusion is brought to the attention of the CIA's head of the Cyber Ops Division Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), and CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) who also seemingly has a shady agenda. When Nicky travels to Greece to find and inform Bourne, they find themselves hunted by CIA operatives, including a ruthless assassin known as the Asset (Vincent Cassel). Jason Bourne must revisit his old life and uncover another conspiracy which he thought was well and truly behind him.

It was fantastic to see Paul Greengrass return to the director's chair to revisit the Bourne universe as well as Matt Damon making a welcome return as Jason Bourne, the role that added another string to his bow as an excellent actor. While I couldn't fault Matt Damon, it was like I was revisiting old ground with this movie. Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles, Riz Ahmed and Vincent Cassel round out the supporting cast just fine.

While there's plenty of action sequences which are a staple for the Bourne series, Jason Bourne seems to focus on the action and I felt that the spirit of the original trilogy was missed with the intelligent story lines which made all three of the original movies very memorable when first released and to this day all three movies have earned a spot in my list of favourite movies of all time. Jason Bourne seemed to be like a popcorn movie to appeal to the audiences to who like to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the non-stop action.

While I had a good time in the cinema watching Jason Bourne, I fear that another Jason Bourne movie may be one too many which could tarnish the fond memories of the original Bourne trilogy. Perhaps it may be time to leave Jason Bourne alone.

7/10.

This was a big letdown, I'd had been looking foreword to it for ages too but for the most part this was boring, the story line was... nothing... a same ole Bourne is trying to find out about his past, people in an office looking at computers trying to find him. Just flat, predictable and redundant.

Tommy Lee Jones, wow was he even present for filming? He was just going through the motions here and appeared to shoot most of his scenes from his living room as he's on his own, on the phone or seated at a desk, appearing grumpy (as per) and bored.

Even the synopsis is dull "The CIA's most dangerous former operative is drawn out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past." Meh.

On the plus there are some decent fight scenes, car chases as expected, an exciting motorcycle chase and a great bad guy with Vincent Cassel but nothing stand out or special there, everyone is just going through the motions.

Maybe I should give this another try, did I miss something?