BOURNE TO RUN Matt Damon reprises his role in the fifth Bourne film.
Cinema
Ciara Galvin
YOU know a film franchise has run out of steam when the film names get more to the point.
Look at ‘The Fast and the Furious’, ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’, and then, slowly but surely, ‘Fast Five’, ‘Furious 8’, etc. It’s as though filmmakers know they’re only rolling out another film for the sake of it and couldn’t be bothered to actually come up with a good title.
The latest instalment in the ‘Bourne saga’ – the fifth – falls victim to this ennui. The project that started off in 2002 with such promise with the high-tech thriller ‘The Bourne Identity’ has evolved into ‘Jason Bourne’, with three other films (cleverly named) wedged in the middle.
‘Jason Bourne’. That’s like calling a third instalment of Anchorman ‘I Love Lamp’.
The first of the Bourne films was edgy. Matt Damon’s character was trying to identify who he was and escape being erased by the CIA, the very organisation that he had dedicated himself to.
The common thread in all of the Bourne films is the idea that organisations such as the CIA are trying to control information and if given enough leeway, can erase people like data on a computer.
Though the earlier films in the franchise answered some questions, the latest instalment sees Bourne still trying to uncover the truth about his involvement in the agency, while also escaping death.
And here’s where the repetitiveness kicks in. Cue country hopping, Bourne dodging bullets and double-crossing CIA agents.
There is an unbelievable amount of chase scenes in this film. Yes, the one in Athens set during riots is impressive, but it’s lengthy and really doesn’t progress the plot in any way. The shaky, chaotic scenes go on (and on) without any real explanation as to why they are happening. Bourne barely speaks for the majority of the film, which only adds to the overall vagueness of the storyline.
We’re presented with snippets of detail about a link up between the CIA and the head of a social media company, and we presume that this link up means we’re all doomed to a Big Brother type society. If this story was developed for a modern audience then while trying to find answers about his own life, Bourne would also unveil the CIA’s master plan. That would make for intriguing watching. But no, the film continues in a chaotic fast-paced manner with little explanation about what is happening.
Alicia Vikander plays fresh-faced techie CIA staffer Heather, paired with the weathered Tommy Lee Jones, who plays CIA director Robert Dewey. For some reason Heather begins to doubt her boss’s reasoning for wanting to getting rid of Bourne.
At just over two hours you’d really hope for some meaty dialogue and gripping action, but all you get is a lot of damaged cars and dead bodies.
The film reminded me of 1998 flick ‘Enemy at the Gate’ – tracking devices, government agencies spying on people, etcetera. The 20 year gap between the two gives an indication of just how lacklustre ‘Jason Bourne’ is.
This saga has officially lost its mojo. But don’t be at all surprised if there’s a sixth instalment.
Rating 2 out of 10
Bourne-ing
