"Jason Bourne" - A Review

Today I finally had the opportunity to go see the latest installment in the Bourne film franchise, Jason Bourne. I had seen several reviews over the weekend that called the film unoriginal and a disappointment, so I wasn't sure what I was expecting. What I was treated to, however, was what was - in my opinion - the best installment of the franchise so far.

First of all, the movie isn't as much a "rerun" of previous Bourne films as some critics would have you believe. There were only two scenes in the film that seemed to be recreations of  scenes from previous films (I won't give details so as not to reveal spoilers). However, on the whole, I thought the film did a great job of setting itself apart from the other installments in the franchise. Though the story still centers around Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) learning more information about his past, the actual storyline plays out quite differently from previous films. Director Paul Greengrass even found ways to make the film's chase sequences unique (and yes, they will have you on the edge of your seat).

Furthermore, Jason Bourne has a depth to it that the previous four films lacked. Instead of tackling the question, "Who is Jason Bourne?" like the previous films, this film asks, "Why is Jason Bourne who he is?" The film explores why David Webb was willing to become Jason Bourne. In this way, the film is something of a character study. I won't go into further detail about it because this look into Bourne's character is more powerful when viewed without any prior knowledge of what specifically is explored about the character.

An additional theme in this film is the theme of government surveillance. The film deals with whether or not it is ethical for the government to be able to spy on ordinary citizens. One review for this film I saw said in its headline that Bourne has never been more relevant. Given the excellent way this theme was handled, I would have to agree with that assessment.

Further highlights of the film include Tommy Lee Jones's performance as one of the best Bourne villains we've seen so far, a new character named Heather Lee (played by Alicia Vikander) who is arguably one of the more complex supporting characters in the Bourne series, and the film's pule-pounding action scenes (my favorite was the London chase scene in the middle of the film, which might even be one of my favorite action scenes in the series as a whole). As an added bonus, the film has less foul language than previous installments.

All that being said, this film is not for everyone. The violence is very intense, and the language may still be an issue for some viewers. Therefore, families and sensitive viewers should refrain from watching this movie. However, fans of the previous films will enjoy this film, and should not be dissuaded by the critics from going to see it.