"Jason Bourne" movie review

The feeling that stuck with me throughout “Jason Bourne” was one of déjà vu. Sure, the film has the return of Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon to the series, after the disappointing run of “The Bourne Legacy”. And that’s great. But it all seems too familiar and formulaic, and that removes all the tension in what should have been a tense spy thriller.

All the usual tropes are there –a reluctant Jason Bourne, who is living in hiding trying to lead something of a regular life, is pulled into the world of espionage. So now Bourne has to follow clues and go around the world trying to fill in the blanks. A sincere CIA operative is leading the operation to capture Bourne, while her superior, who has some shady background stuff going on, is trying to get rid of him. The superior has his own ‘asset’ whom he is using to get rid of Bourne, who uses every dirty trick in the book to get him. Throw in a lot of chases and a mind blowing car chase for the climax which ends up devastating the traffic scene. And of course, Bourne exposes the CIA honcho and his operation. Sound familiar? Yep, any other Bourne movie (maybe not the first one).

Taken on its own, the movie isn’t all bad. Matt Damon reprises the role that he can probably play in his sleep now, and does a great job. The shaky cam is back, which may not be good news for everyone. The movie continues in the tradition of great action, though I think “The Bourne Ultimatum” was where the franchise hit its high. The final car chase in Las Vegas deserves a special mention – they definitely raised the stakes on this one.

There are a few flaws here. The plot is quite thin and seems overly simplistic at times. The inclusion of Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander doesn’t add to the movie – they are stuck with roles which seem to be a rehash of earlier characters. The biggest problem though is that the movie doesn’t have anything new to offer. It seems to be faithfully replicating what has been a successful recipe and hence doesn’t deliver any thrills or twists, which is a problem since that is exactly what the movie needs.

Don’t fix something that isn’t broken seems to be the mantra that they have followed on this movie. And though that may work in some cases, that isn’t the case here. Despite quite a few positives, the predictability is enough to make this a slog. It felt like a scene by scene recreation of any of its predecessors, and doesn’t add anything to the franchise. And that’s a shame.