M
att Damon is back as the reluctant, amnesiac super assassin Jason Bourne in the self titled fifth film in the popular movie franchise based of the Robert Ludlum novels. Damon is reunited with Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, United 93) for third time in the franchise and the two once again show why they just work well together.
In Jason Bourne we are immediately reunited with Bourne, he’s aged and is just basically taking things day by day. Bourne is living off the grid, making money by participating in fight rings in Greece. Unfortunately his life of solitude is about to end when his former CIA contact Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) returns with some new information about his father and another government project like the ones he taken down in the previous films.
Bourne is immediately thrown back into the world he wanted nothing to do with anymore when it is revealed he is still alive. Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Jones is this installment’s main villain Robert Dewey director of the CIA who wants Bourne dead before he takes down and exposes his new asssassin program. In the film Dewey is assisted by his main agent Craig Jeffers (Ato Essandoh), eager agent who seems to have her own agenda in play.
Like every other Bourne film there is of courser and “asset” tasked with the very difficult job of taking out Jason Bourne. Vincent Cassel is that guy, revenge is his fuel after his team was exposed and he was taken captive after Bourne helped bring to light the secret program he was in. Cassel looks to be Bourne’s biggest threat yet as he stops at nothing to see that he is dead and helps tie up all loose ends for Dewey. Bourne is now back in the game and searches for answers as new questions arise about the death of his father and why the government really targeted him in the first place and he is dead set on getting them.
FINAL VERDICT
It’s absolutely refreshing to see Matt Damon reprise the role of Jason Bourne. Not to take anything away from the underrated Matt Damonless last film The Bourne Legacy. Paul Greengrass manages to keep Jason Bourne fresh by sticking in the worlds current infatuation with social media and current obsession with worrying about privacy. Newcomers to the franchise, Tommy Lee Jones is stellar as Damon’s villain, Vincent Cassel is impressive as Damon’s nemesis, Ato Assandoh is shines as Jones right hand man and Alicia Vikander is good but could have been used more in the film. The action you have come to expect from a Bourne film is there and is taken up a notch especially with the chase scenes. Matt Damon hasn’t missed a step either and reminds people event though he’s older he still packs a mean punch and his assassin skills are still sharp. Jason Bourne is definitely one of the better films in the franchise and looks to inject life back into probably fostering more films to follow.
4 out 5
PHOTOS: Universal Pictures
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