The word Bourne became synonymous to memory loss, action, high octane chases and rather a dictionary to many more of Hollywood flicks which adopted the genre’s USP. The reunion of Damon with director Paul Greengrass, Jason Bourne brings the former secret agent out of the shadows once again after a self-imposed exile following the events of 2007’s Ultimatum.
Despite Bourne’s efforts over the course of the first three films to expose the secret projects that turned him and other soldiers into brainwashed killing machines, a new series of classified operations – and some surprising revelations about his family puts Bourne on a conflict with the CIA and its director, Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones). Bourne has been off the grid for 10 years but he keeps vigil by practicing Underground Street fighting in Greece, probably because that location would make for a great first major action set piece, given it’s a country drowned in riots. His old friend and analyst Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), finds Jason after she hacked into the CIA’s mainframe and discovered our hero’s father may have had something to do with the program that turned Bourne into a killing machine. Jason thinks that’s impossible because his father, as far as he knew, didn’t rate that high.
So Jason Bourne is instantly in a tricky position: it has to invent a reason to bring Bourne back into action. It has to find something not only compelling enough to drag Bourne out of hiding, but compelling enough to make a return to his world feel necessary. And this is the first and most obvious stumble that the film makes, because Bourne’s return to the world of bone-breaking international intelligence is powered by information that feels silly and does not give the fearsome punch of a motive like in the last three movies which had a strong motive along with making him as a fearsome target too.
Then there are far too many elements that could have spoiled the plot’s intention with repetitive chase sequences down the country’s busiest streets amidst chaos, but somehow the series never seems to evolve off these and still points out the adrenaline rush it could bring down the viewer. An early sequence involving a fiery, city-wide riot across Athens is breathtaking, a dazzling portrait of chaos that’s driven by anxious crosscutting and a barrage of acoustic effects. The same can be said about a tense chase at a London pavilion midway through the film, one that thrives with unpredictability and bizarre stakes. These are reputable scenes that offer all the bang for your buck. The highlight of the entire movie is a wild car chase through the streets of Las Vegas in which Damon pursues an operative driving a stolen SWAT truck. It’s the sequence the studio keeps touting in the marketing for the film, and for good reason too.
As much as you try to bad mouth the movie, it still leaves behind a sense of goodness with the rush and octane direction, Ludlum’s novels were known as the quick paced page turner, enough to make you very much wanted and to know what’s next. All of the 3 part series before this movie had that notion and did keep going on the right note with Bourne going behind what he has lost along with his memory, the alien forces that try to shy him away from the truth and finally the grand finale came down well with Bourne reaching the exact place where he started it, looks like a fitting end indeed. The need to bring back Bourne into the arena and keep him going with a new series of twists looks far stretched and tiring, making the character Bourne itself wearisome.
All said, the movie still is a good time pass action flick with a series of intelligent sequences that keep our pulse rates bang on. Go watch it on a Sunday afternoon to relish the best out of it.
