Jason Bourne (2016)

You might have thought the “Jason Bourne” series (starring Matt Damon) was over and done after the fourth film in the Bourne universe, “The Bourne Legacy” (2012), focused on the actions of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) and not everyone’s favorite on-the-lam former CIA assassin.  But, surprisingly, “Legacy” showed that the legend surrounding Bourne can never really be counted out, as the non-Damon spin-off earned over $276 billion dollars, worldwide.

As such, director Paul Greengrass (“The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum”) returns with Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), himself, in a fifth entry in the series, aptly named “Jason Bourne.” When we catch up with Bourne this time, he exists off the grid, earning a living using his formidable fight club skills in dusty fisticuffs on the Greek-Albanian border.  Relative to Bourne’s past, all seems fairly well and good, until former CIA analyst and, now, underground computer whiz Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) unexpectedly drops by to let Bourne know that her hacking has revealed not only more about Bourne’s past but also about dirty business that some in the CIA (especially CIA director Robert Dewey, played by Tommy Lee Jones) may be cooking up. 

Of course, the man-of-few-words, Bourne, soon finds himself drawn back into the cat-and-mouse games run by Director Dewey, as Dewey not only wants to protect the secrets stolen by Parsons but also wants to eradicate the resurfaced Bourne once and for all.  In service of his zeal for Bourne’s destruction, Dewey, rather shadily, tasks a contract killer, only referred to as “The Asset” (Vincent Cassel) to hunt Bourne from country to country and also uses his Ph.D.-level super-cyber analyst, Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), to track and surveil the former superspy, worldwide, like never before.

“Jason Bourne” is made up of familiar feeling ‘round-the-world action-packed locales, eye-popping chase scenes, and high-tech gadgetry.  These are elements that the audience has seen versions of many times, not only in prior iterations of the Bourne series, but also in 007’s exploits as well as in “very particular set of skills” Liam Neeson’s “Taken,” among numerous other action-spy films.  But, here, somehow, Greengrass has transcended what could have been the ho-hum, think-of-my-grocery-list, mundane and repetitive action sequences and made them engaging, drawing the audience directly into the edge-of-the-seat action. 

Perhaps, the pull is Greengrass’ use of mostly practical special effects (as there is refreshingly limited CGI action here) in nerve-wracking chase scenes, particularly the breathtaking scene along the Las Vegas Strip (which, in filming, included a half-mile nighttime shutdown of part of the iconic road for nearly two weeks and involved over 200 vehicles).  Further, his prudent use of a shaky, documentary-style, hand-held film approach has a “You Are There” intimacy for the audience that feels literally heart-pounding without becoming overused and stomach-turning. Additionally, the film is knee-deep with solid performances from not only Damon but also series newcomer Vikander, whose steely intellectualism and nuanced characterization works well.

In essence, “Jason Bourne” is a taut, compelling thriller that continues to elevate the smart spy series.  Bourne is welcome to drop by again, anytime.