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2007’s “The
Bourne Ultimatum” was an top notch finale in the Jason Bourne saga,
rewarding faithful viewers with a sense of closure and plenty of heated action,
giving star Matt Damon (2015s
The Martian) another reason to pummel enemies and evade capture.
Another chapter wasn’t necessary, and after a problematic spin-off (2012’s “The
Bourne Legacy”), the franchise is back up and running with “Jason
Bourne.” There was a nine year wait for the fourth installment of this
disoriented spy saga, and such substantial patience isn’t rewarded. “Jason
Bourne” is a surprisingly leaden picture that’s content to retread instead of
innovate, conscious of audience expectation when it comes to the titular
character stalking and silencing those out to kill him. All this time to cook a
full cinematic meal, and director/co-writer Paul Greengrass insists on reheating
leftovers.
CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones, 2007's
No Country For Old Men) is preparing to pact
with tech tycoon Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed) on a project that would allow the
government free rein to spy on its citizens anywhere they hide. Looking to
protect the plan, Dewey’s interests are run by subordinate Heather Lee (Alicia
Vikander, 2015's
Ex Machina),
who’s trying to make her mark on the agency. Emerging from the shadows is Jason
Bourne (Matt Damon), who’s now a shell of a man, learning about his father’s
participation in Operation Treadstone, which complicates his memories of
service. Evading capture while pursued by rival assassin Asset (Vincent Cassel),
Bourne has plans to reach Dewey, but has trouble managing public appearances.
With government forces in hot pursuit around the globe, Bourne tries to remain
incognito as he embarks on the fight of his life, once again hungry for closure.
With a near-decade gap between installments, it’s surprising to watch “Jason
Bourne” regurgitate plot points already exercised in full throughout the last
three pictures. Once again, there’s a secretive black ops organization looking
to prevent exposure as they dabble in illegalities. Once again, there’s a rival
assassin ordered into battle, with Asset personally tied
to Bourne’s past. Once again, Bourne is a lone man on the move, using espionage
skills to remain one step ahead of the U.S. Government. The screenplay tries to
Sharpie over sell-by dates, but it doesn’t take long before staleness sets in,
especially when most of “Jason Bourne” consists of actors making pained faces
while staring at screens, playing a tedious game of “Where’s Bourne?” as they
attempt to track his movements all over the globe, with the new film jumping
from Greece to London to Las Vegas to provide a worldwide hunt.
Especially after the conclusion of “Ultimatum,”
“Jason Bourne” could’ve gone anywhere narratively, but Greengrass and co-writer
Christopher Rouse immediately return to the question of Treadstone, working to
refresh Bourne’s back story by adding a Sins of the Father knot in the noose.
Depleted of suspense in the last picture, a revival of Treadstone issues offers
little motivation for the characters, with government types once again engaging
in covert business, while Bourne is determined to stop them. Adding a parent to
the mix doesn’t energize “Jason Bourne,” doing little to disrupt the déja vu
that clouds the film from frame one, while commentary on invasive surveillance
methods isn’t pronounced in the usual Greengrass-ian manner, mostly introduced
to provide ways for Bourne to keep tabs on Dewey and his goons. There really
should be more to the movie, graduating Bourne to the next stage of his heroism
or psychological unraveling, but the production lacks dramatic experimentation,
going through the motions with a distinct rinse, lather, repeat approach.
After dodging bullets and trackers throughout the picture, the grand finale
takes Bourne to Las Vegas, where he tears up The Strip to bring his enemies to
justice. A stickler for realism, Greengrass indulges his inner-Micheal Bay with
the sequence, showing hilarious disregard for
the city’s extensive security network, while a climatic chase has a SWAT vehicle
clearing cars off the road like a shovel pushing through snow, allowing physics
to a chance to nap. Greengrass cranks up the noise and his customary use of
shaky-cam and blitzkrieg editing, laboring to give “Jason Bourne” proper
blockbuster punctuation, but it’s not enough to shake the effort out of its
slumber. The cast looks bored here, the set-pieces are dull, and the script is
perfunctory, making one wonder exactly why Bourne needed to return to
multiplexes that were doing just fine without him.
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