Review: "Jason Bourne" stale but not terrible - East Idaho News
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Review: “Jason Bourne” stale but not terrible

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When “The Bourne Identity” hit cinemas in 2002, it was a bit of a game-changer. It presented a new formula for the perfect spy movie: take the intrigue of a “James Bond” movie, add in a character with a mysterious haunted past and a heaping dollop of grisly, chaotic visual style. Heck, the “Bourne” movies were so successful that even the “James Bond” franchise borrowed elements to improve their movies.

But 14 years on, it’s time to let Jason Bourne ride off into the sunset. “Jason Bourne” isn’t a bad movie at all. It’s actually a pretty good time. It’s just that the whole “Bourne” formula is starting to feel, well … stale.

”Jason Bourne” finds the title character (played by Matt Damon) living on the fringes, making bones as a bare knuckle boxer in the dusty reaches of Europe. When he’s contacted by Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), Bourne is dragged back into a web of government-sponsored intrigue and machinations of Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), this movie’s shady puppet master character.

Along the way, Bourne locks horns with an assassin (Vincent Cassel) with whom he has some history. Can Bourne put a stop to Dewey and put a beating on the rest of the bad guys? I have a feeling you already know the answer.

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Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in “Jason Bourne.” | Courtesy Universal

One of the biggest issues with “Jason Bourne” and one of the reasons the series needs, at minimum, a facelift is the title character. Bourne is a character with a single solitary character trait: determination. He was more interesting when he had no memory. The more he learns about himself, the less of a mystery he is and the more we realize he’s just a single-minded killing machine. He stalks through the frame like the indestructible villain from a “Friday the 13th” or “Halloween” movie.

Bourne is surrounded by stock characters: Shady Government Guy, Menacing Assassin Guy, Help Female Character … You get the idea. Although the actors all turn in solid work, nothing here seems all that fresh or new.

The same could be said about the overall story and the dialogue. The writing is solid, but nothing we haven’t seen before. Luckily, the action scenes are still visceral and high-impact. Director Paul Greengrass also helps create palpable tension during several set pieces by playing a shell game with the characters and their geographical locations. “Jason Bourne” is worth seeing just to witness how tightly Greengrass can twist your insides before the tension is released onscreen.

While the “Bourne” franchise isn’t aging well and it needs a serious transfusion of new blood (this in spite of the last “Bourne” installment which featured Jeremy Renner), this helping of “Bourne” goodness is plenty fun and could serve as a perfect send-off. And it should be a send-off of Damon’s take on Bourne before the franchise falls into complete mediocrity.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13

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