Studio: Universal (2 hrs. 3 min.)
Plot: The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past.
Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Julia Stiles, Vincent Cassel, Alicia Vikander, Riz Ahmed
Rating: PG-13
Bottom Line: *
By Jon Rutledge
Putting it out there: I am not a fan of the Jason Bourne series. This film was on par with many in this franchise, aside from the unfortunate Bourne Legacy that we’ll politely pretend never happened. There are some good performances and it nicely continues the story but I just can’t get behind the creative choice to shoot the entire film with a handheld camera. It was the same criticism I had with the others in this series. It is only one problem but it’s big enough to disconnect me from the film.
In this story Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has now remembered all aspects of his life and has been floating around the world punishing himself for the lives he has taken. He is contacted by Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and she lets him in on some information about his father’s involvement in the Treadstone project. Jason now has to get to the bottom of this and serve quick justice to the people involved. Spy and revenge hijinks ensue.
The heavies in this film are CIA Director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) his lead assassin, The Asset (Vincent Cassel). The new face in the crowd is Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) who is trying to bring Jason back in but only as a way to further her career. She is outstanding in this film.
Let me explain why I don’t care for the Director’s (Paul Greengrass) overuse of the shaky camera. That camera technique is used to bring the audience into the action. It’s a theatrical device that can heighten a fight scene or a conflict between characters. The entire film was shot like this. Walking in a crowd, arguing with a suspect you are interrogating and having a chase scene all perfectly good uses. A person sitting a desk in an office working on code, trying to read a text over the characters shoulder and a person sitting looking introspective are all horrible uses of this technique.
If you loved the previous films I think you’ll enjoy it, I didn’t bring my Dramamine so I was not as impressed.
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Printed in the September 4, 2016 – September 17, 2016 edition
