The Bourne franchise returned to acquainted territory in 2016 with “Jason Bourne,” the fifth movie within the collection and the long-awaited comeback of Matt Damon because the amnesiac super-spy. After Damon sat out 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy“—a derivative starring Jeremy Renner that didn’t ignite new life into the model—Common introduced again the confirmed duo of Damon and director Paul Greengrass. The reunion additionally included Greengrass’s longtime editor Christopher Rouse as co-writer, signaling a acutely aware effort to recapture the depth of the sooner trilogy.
The movie introduces contemporary faces alongside returning ones. Alicia Vikander steps in as Heather Lee, a rising CIA cyber-ops specialist along with her personal agenda, whereas Tommy Lee Jones performs the steely CIA Director Robert Dewey. Julia Stiles reprises her function as Nicky Parsons, however this time she takes on a bigger, extra pivotal half within the story, finally setting Bourne again on a path of discovery and battle. French actor Vincent Cassel makes a memorable impression because the CIA “asset” tasked with eliminating Bourne.
The plot adheres intently to the collection’ confirmed system: the CIA views Bourne as a legal responsibility and deploys each useful resource to deliver him down, whereas Bourne unravels extra of his mysterious previous. This chapter facilities on revelations about his father’s function in creating the black-ops program that turned him right into a weapon. The invention, triggered by Nicky’s daring hack of the CIA’s recordsdata, attracts Bourne out of his self-imposed exile and plunges him again right into a globe-spanning gauntlet of surveillance, betrayal, and chase sequences.
Greengrass delivers the motion together with his trademark handheld, kinetic model, culminating in a standout Las Vegas automotive chase staged with sensible stunts fairly than CGI. The set piece underscores why Greengrass’s visceral method continues to set the Bourne movies other than flashier motion franchises.
Regardless of the craftsmanship and Damon’s charismatic return, the movie earned solely modest important reward in comparison with the excessive bar set by the unique trilogy. Some viewers felt the system had grown stale—one other spherical of the CIA chasing Bourne, once more ending in futility. Whereas the movie carried out properly on the field workplace, it didn’t recapture the franchise’s peak momentum.
For diehard followers, “Jason Bourne” stays an entertaining entry that delivers precisely what one expects from the collection. But the repetition leaves questions concerning the franchise’s future. With Common reportedly creating a sixth installment below director Edward Berger, followers might hope the following chapter will break the cycle—maybe by repositioning Bourne not in opposition to the CIA, however working with them, or teaming up with different brokers to inform a more energizing story.
