Friday, August 5, 2016

Jason Bourne

Direction: Paul Greengrass; Lead Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones; Story: based on characters by Robert Ludlum ; Screenplay: Paul Greengrass, Christopher Rouse; Cinematography: Ackroyd; Editing: Christopher Rouse; Music: John Powell; Producers: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner Genre: Action, Thriller: Location: various European countries and US; Distributor: Universal Pictures; Running Time:120 minutes
Technical asssessment: 3
Moral assessment: 2
CINEMA rating: V14
Nicky Parsons (Stiles) breaks into an Iceland facility and hacks the CIA mainframe to expose its BlackOps programs. She copies several file evidence about Jason Bourne’s (Damon) past but not without alerting CIA cyber ops head Heather Lee (Vikander) who plants a Malware in the stolen files. Lee discovers Parson’s identity and links her to Jason Bourne, now living in isolation as an underground fighter in Greece. She then informs CIA director Robert Dewey (Jones) about it and they oversee several attempts to retrieve the files and kill Parsons and Bourne. Before Parson dies, she passes the key to a luggage locker where she kept the encrypted files. Bourne travels to Berlin to have the files decrypted and discovers that his father was former CIA personnel who created one of the BlackOps program. Through protracted flashbacks, he remembers how his father was killed in Beirut. Meanwhile, the Malware planted by Lee gives away his location and allows her to remotely erase the files. Believing she can convince Bourne to return to the agency and not exactly agreeing with Dewey’s decisions, Lee decides to help Bourne escape to earn his trust. When Bourne finally pieces together the real story behind his father’s death and his recruitment, he decides to seek revenge and travel to Vegas to confront Dewey. In Vegas, Dewey is preparing for a public debate against Social Media mogul and creator of Deep Dream Aaron Kaloor (Ahmed) who wants to let off his deal to betray the privacy of his users to the CIA in the guise of national security. Dewey, shrewd as ever, plans to have both Kaloor and Lee assassinated but Bourne arrives in time to thwart the attempt.
If it’s non-stop heart pounding action you want, its non-stop heart pounding action you get. Jason Bourne delivers its promise to keep breathless audiences at the edge of their seat for two hours as they follow the characters all around the world. Ackroyd brilliantly uses tight handheld-like shots to convey urgency and tension. The engagement would not have been achieved if traditional framing was used. Master scorer John Powell accentuates the dynamism of the non-verbal script. The director-editor teaming up to develop the screenplay pays off with such tight, fast-paced editing. Damon and Jones complement each other as cold hearted nemesis accentuated by Vincent Cassel’s eerie presence and Vikander’s calculating genius. The casting is seamless and the performances commendable. Now, while non-fans of the Bourne franchise may be temporarily mesmerized by the complicated but well visualized storyline until they realize its absurdity, fans who followed the four previous films may find this film dry, repetitive and unnecessary. None of the characters have any real motivation. There are too many subplots. And whatever wow factor it has technically may not totally make up for what it lacks in content and development.
We can try to nitpick some messages the film unconsciously delivered. First, trust is not gained by trying to win another person’s favor by pledging false support. In the end, the real motivations will be revealed.  Truth, no matter how much you try to bury or hide, will always be uncovered and discovered. Second, a subtle issue about personal privacy and national security is a real serious point to be considered. When should privacy be given up? While it seems a cheap commodity now that social media have converted everyone into instant publishers raring to get their 30 seconders of fame regardless of the risk, giving every other institution the right to abuse and exploit the naivete of willing social media users. The film totally disregards the value of life. Murder is committed at the blink of an eye. Violence peppers every scene. The movie is not suitable for the young.