After nearly a decade of supposedly closing the door on the “Bourne” franchise, somehow Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass have decided to bring Jason Bourne back in the most obvious way imaginable: by doing the same story line over again. Except this time, it’s with different people in the lead roles.
Yet again, “Jason Bourne” finds the titular character on the run from shady government agencies who want him dead, or else he’ll spread all of the dirty little secrets they’ve been hiding away in their closets. It’s not the most original story line out there (especially not for the “Bourne” franchise), but the action is still as fun and as kinetic as before and there’s a lot of excitement to be had out of that.
Not to mention, it’s also great to see Damon in the lead role, alongside the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Riz Ahmed, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles and new Oscar-winner, Alicia Vikander, giving their sometimes thin material, with as much gravitas as they can bring.
Depending on the box-office, “Jason Bourne” may or may not be the last of the “Bourne” franchise. However, if they do decide to bring it back, it’ll still be a lot better than most of what we get during the summer. Let’s just hope the story is a little better next time.
3 out of 5 starsDan O’Neill is currently a journalism student at Temple University. He can be reached at tuf73940@temple.edu.