‘JASON BOURNE’ (2016): Exciting and Exhilarating, Bourne is Back!

January 25, 2017 Rissi JC 7 Comments

It’s been a drought for action fans with the exclusion of our favorite assassin turned rouge agent, Jason Bourne. When Matt Damon’s return to the iconic role of Jason Bourne was announced, there was excitement. This is the result.

Jason Bourne (2016) Film Review

It’s been years since the CIA had a sighting of Jason Bourne (Damon). Without a name, country or family, Jason is a ghost. He’s been restlessly moving from one place to other, never finding peace. Then a face from his past reenters his life. Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) is working with a dark web hacker with plans to release all of the Treadstone files. But first she has to get information about Jason’s past to him.

‘JASON BOURNE’ (2016): Exciting and Exhilarating, Bourne is Back! Matt Damon returns as the rouge CIA agent in this action flick. Text © Rissi JC

Their reunion sparks the interest of the CIA and danger is again their normal. Particularly invested in the case is CIA Cyber Crimes head, Heather Lee (Alicia Vikandar). Underneath the establishment of Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), Heather determines to be the one to bring in Bourne. But before she can accomplish anything, she has to gain his trust, which might set into motion events she cannot control.

The hashtag of summer blockbusters is all about “Bourne is Back.” This was the buzz surrounding the film nearly ten years in the making. Whether fans walk away feeling satisfied or not, one thing we cannot argue is that Jason Bourne makes a comeback.

FILM REVIEW | Jack Reacher (2013) – Smart, Clever Scripting Enhances Tom Cruise Mystery
‘JASON BOURNE’ (2016): Exciting and Exhilarating, Bourne is Back! #FWarchives Click To Tweet

As an overarching story, I think the script overreaches. It tries “too hard” to jump back into this world, and as a result, feels like it repeats a little too much of itself. It’s really in the “smaller” happenings that this film shines. Going into greater detail seems an impossibility because I don’t want to spoil anything. Let’s see if I can explain the meaning of this thought with some clarification.

Jason has always been a pro at whatever he’s doing. We learn as the series progresses that once as a soldier, later as an assassin, and eventually as the thorn in the CIA’s side. He hasn’t lost this edge, and so it’s really in the clever intricacies that the film works best. So much of the larger story is about Bourne’s past, which I feel, as a viewer, we’ve learned “enough” about.

That said, if any series can get away with a trip or two, it’s this one. I appreciate it like no other actioner series. Perhaps this is because, this is probably one of the first series (of this genre) I ever got “into” or perhaps it’s the character. Whatever the reason, I have a soft spot for this franchise. This film hasn’t lowered my esteem in the least.

The characters remain complex, interesting beings. There is regret about one character early on before interest in solving the enigma that is newbie, Heather Lee, sneaks in. I cannot say more about her character without spoiling the story, but suffice to say, she’s one you’re sure to question more than once. I still wonder, what her real motivation is!

Though I’d be first in line to see Damon return as the titular character, I do think the end is about as good as it is likely to get for him. Ideally, I want to see him happy like with Marie (from The Bourne Supremacy) but given the writer’s wanting to go for “gritty,” I don’t see them giving this to us. The action sequences are all good (albeit one does go a little too exaggerated) and the action keeps the story moving at a rapid pace. As the film concludes, and the familiar theme plays, we have a sneaking suspicion Jason Bourne is not done with the CIA. Whether they like it or not, he’s always got an ace waiting to best them.

(Disclosure: this post does contain affiliate links; if you buy anything through these links, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thank you to anyone who makes a purchase through these links. Read the disclosure page for details.)

You can find Jason Bourne (2016) digitally on Amazon Video

Content: There’s countless instances of cars being smashed and demolished. Men engage in hand-to-hand combat (sometimes with brutal results); victims suffer stab or gunshot wounds, sometimes with fatal results. Commonplace profanity peppers the 2-hour film. The film is PG13.

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

All posts

7 Comments

  • Kara Lynn January 26, 2017 at 12:00 PM

    Ohh interesting!!! Thanks for reviewing – I wondered about the movie!

    • Rissi January 28, 2017 at 1:54 AM

      My pleasure, Kara. Hope you enjoy if/when you see this one! Have you seen the prior films in the series? :)

  • Sarah February 3, 2017 at 7:17 AM

    I was on the excited side at the idea of another Bourne, but I think this film completely wasted any potential his return had. It doesn't live up to the standard, and didn't impress me at all… even though it's not terrible. I'm glad you enjoyed it a bit more. Nice review! :)

    • Rissi February 3, 2017 at 8:46 PM

      I did enjoy it, Sarah, but I'll confess this could be my overall "deep" fangirl affection for the series. Sorry you didn't end up liking it (that's never fun!). Many thanks to you for stopping by to share and read the review – I appreciate it. :)

  • Bekah M. February 8, 2017 at 7:35 PM

    Your review is spot on, like always, Rissi! I felt much the same, though I still loved it. I was just happy to see these characters back! My dad was super disappointed though, which I also get. Great review! :)

    • Rissi February 14, 2017 at 1:19 AM

      I loved it too, Bekah – who doesn't love getting to know more about Jason Bourne!? He's awesome. Like you, just the fact that we got to "see" these characters again is fabulous. Plus that ending!? Epic. :)

  • […] most recent film (that I’ve seen) is a return to the (modern movie) iconic role of Jason Bourne (2016). In it, Jason’s journey comes full circle in a sense, and while I’d love to see more of […]

  • Leave a Reply

    (Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

    Bonjour and Welcome!

    Welcome | thank you for visiting and reading. if you like, you are invited to join our conversations and follow along – join us.  You’re most welcome.
    Read more about us

    Find Us Elsewhere

    Find us on Gab, Gettr, and MeWe! Plus, join our Reader Group page on MeWe!

    Culture Characteristics in your Inbox!

    Subscribe! Have our new content sent to your inbox; sign up for our once (or twice) monthly round up of new content. If you'd like to have this newsletter sent to your inbox, you can enter your email address here. Please note, this does require a sign-up confirmation via email, and that email may be sent to a junk or spam folder.

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Archives

    Disclosures

    Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive (a small) compensation. This compensation comes at no additional cost to you.

    Rissi JC (RissiWrites.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

    All written content (unless noted) is © Copyright Rissi JC and RissiWrites.com.

    Categories

    ×
    %d bloggers like this: