I’ll state upfront that I adore the Bourne trilogy, consisting the first three Bourne films, starring Matt Damon. These embody, in my humble opinion, some of the best spy thriller films ever made. The fifth installment in this perfect trilogy, which was made into a franchise, titled simply Jason Bourne, is not bad; not bad at all. But it is also completely unnecessary. Furthermore, the plot centers around a contrived topic that replicates past themes with very little to no originality.
Jason Bourne, the film, was directed by Paul Greengrass, to a screenplay by himself and Christopher Rouse. It picks up the Bourne story where the third part, The Bourne Ultimatum, left it off. Mind you that the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy, did not include the Bourne character itself, as Damon did not wish to be part of it. A correct decision on Damon’s part, and I was sorry to see him change his mind. But rather than rant about the past, let me get back to the film at hand.
Jason Bourne, the movie, does include breathtaking action scenes, craftily conceived and directed by Greengrass, a master in his field. Damon performs his role impeccably, keeping the Bourne character very much alive. But the story itself is simply lame. So long as the decision was made to breathe new life into the Bourne character, the filmmakers would have done much better by removing Bourne from the CIA and the past, as that was already resolved in the trilogy, and instead, attached him to a new plot in some foreign country and their spy agency.
That being said, as a Bourne fan, I still much enjoyed the action and performances, even if the story itself added nothing of significance to the Bourne legacy.