Review - Matt Mungle
*In theaters July 29th 2016*
Synopsis: Jason Bourne, now remembering who he truly is, tries to uncover hidden truths about his past.
Review: I think we were all so excited to see Matt Damon back as JASON BOURNE that we didn't stop to ask ourselves if we truly needed/wanted another Bourne film. After seeing this one many will walk away with the answer of, no, we actually didn't. Had this one been new, innovative, and something we had not quite seen before then maybe. But it is the same old song and dance with our favorite amnesiac.
This time around Bourne (Matt Damon) is starting to remember more of his past. It isn't helping him socially or professionally though. he is still on the run and hiding from the government he is sure used and manipulated him. Even as more answers surface you aren't sure if he cares. When he pings the CIA's computer system of course everyone drops everything to try and bring him in or take him down. All in fear that what he does know he will share with the world. CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy lee Jones) is especially concerned. He makes Bourne a top priority and enlists the help of an up and coming tech specialist (Alicia Vikander) to aid in the search.
This film is a jumbled mess of lengthy chases, eye rolling CIA technical abilities, and a waste of talented actors. It is a copy and paste script from all the past Bourne films with new characters written in to regurgitate the dialogue. Writer/Director Paul Greengrass knows how to frame and deliver action sequences but here they feel more like a distraction from the dismal story line instead of an anticipated enhancement. The flashbacks have zero continuity with modern characters and are just another out of shape puzzle piece in the Treadstone file.
There are moments when what is happening on screen feels like science fiction. I watch Star Trek with more confidence in the technology than I did here. Maybe the CIA can erase encrypted files from half way around the world by tapping into an electric toaster (I am exaggerating but only slightly). But every scene was conveniently filled with satellite images, CCT cameras, and other gadgets that allow them to monitor Bourne. Yet once he goes around the corner they lose him mysteriously. It is nearly laughable.
Vikander is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses on the screen today. She even has a Gold Statue to prove it. But they squander her talent with bad directing, poor delivery options, and a drab wardrobe that makes her look pathetically unmotivated. She seems confused as to why the CIA is acting as they are. But maybe her confusion runs more to the movie as a whole. Jones too seems to be laughing at the process even as he acts concerned about Bourne. He delivers the lines in standard TLJ fashion but gives us little more than a phoned in delivery.
There is of course no doubt that Matt Damon is a great Bourne. He continues to give us the character we expect. As he matures so does Jason. But the character needs a world in which to live and react. This film gives him no solid platform on which to do more than punch and pout. If you simply want to see Matt Damon be Bourne then you will like it much more. If you want an elevated franchise offering then you will be disappointed.
JASON BOURNE is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief strong language. It is safe for those comfortable with the action genre and 11 and up.I give the movie 1.5 out of 5 burner phones. We all like the character but didn't need to see him like this again with no supporting plot.
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