Since
I have to be at home (all the time) I decided to take this as an opportunity to
go through my bucket list of famous franchises that I never got around. One of
those was the The
Bourne movies, and I do have a couple of thoughts. Instead of having a
review per movie, I decided to put them together as it is much easier to
analyze them by comparing them to each other. So let us dig in:
The
Bourne Identity (2002) begins with someone fished out of
the sea, a man, who later identifies himself as Jason Bourne (Matt
Damon), and a long road to figure out who he is. He gets help from a
student in need of cash, Marie (Franka
Potente), who ends up being involved with him while he searches for
clues on his past. And I really, I enjoyed his journey immensely. This is quite
a unique idea for a secret agent and I was along for the ride. However... what
agency was he working for? I have found it ridiculous that until the second
movie, The
Bourne Supremacy (2004), there was not even a plaque of the CIA, FBI,
Homeland, counter terrorist units, nothing. NOTHING. Who the hell does Bourne
work for? I couldn't shake the feeling that this was not deliberate,
but an oversight, as one official immediately knows which branch of which
organization to contact when he hears that an attempt on a foreign figure was
unsuccessful (as we later find out, it was Jason who failed at
his mission). He had absolutely no problem figuring out who sent that agent to
carry out the hit, yet the viewers do not find out until later installations
that there are secret project within the CIA that should not really be up and
running.
With
The
Bourne Ultimatum (2007) you had a perfect trilogy. I'll admit it,
these three went very well together, but I am still upset at the first movie
because the lack of information about the "agency". Mostly, because,
the lack of information is something that seeped into the sequel that followed
the trilogy.
Nonetheless, the ending of the second movie (Supremacy)
was tied into this one, and it left me with my mouth open. I really enjoy
sequels that showcase how the makers know their source material. I
enjoyed the music, the plot, the idea, the characters and I was there for the
ride with
Jason... but perhaps it would have been better to end it
there... I would like to add still, that every time after movie one, people
asking
Jason "
You really don't remember, do you?"
just made me scream... have you seen what he done so far to get answers??? Have
you seen his file which claims amnesia?? When he has a gun to your face and
asks you what the hell happened to him, I think you can safely assume that he
does not remember!
After
all came The
Bourne Legacy (2012) did not do as well, as one can expect, people did
not want a story without its titular actor. Which is a shame, because movie
three uttered that Threadstone (the project that made assassins like Jason),
was just the tip of the iceberg. I personally incredibly enjoyed this
side-chapter, especially because I liked the idea of a major conspiracy in the
background and allowing us to have an insight, but I need to tell you, that
there has to be a division between the story with the main characters, and the
agency that was trying to eliminate them. Aaron Cross (Jeremy
Renner) and Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel
Weisz)? Wonderful casting, wonderful chemistry, a slowly but steady
relationship was built up between them and I cared and I loved every second of
it. The action sequences were great (although seeing the stunt double did take
me out at minutes, I would still like to thank them for their work #OscarsForStunts,
because none of these awesome movies would exist otherwise), however... the
agency... I was so goddamn pissed at the agency that tried to take him and
everyone in the project out, because... WHY. OK, we see on TV that Jason turned
on a chain reaction, these projects are getting shoved into the light and
questioned by the right authorities, however, at the end of this it seems that
everyone gets away with them anyway and that was simply enraging. The whole
reason to kill of agents like Aaron, was to hide projects again,
but then towards the end yet ANOTHER super secret project is mentioned to which
one person says "That is up and running? I thought that was just a
theory!", while the name of the project is WRITTEN IN LARGE FONT ON A
COMPUTER IN THE BACKGROUND DURING THIS SCENE. *sighs audibly.* The
whole point of the movie is to scrap evidence of something that nobody then has
to pay for, nobody is brought up on charges, and Aaron himself
does not care at all to stop it. Seeing three movies built on exposing the
corrupt side of an agency meant to protect Americans was swept under the rug,
completely undoing everything that Jason did in his trilogy. Again,
take this movie and divide it into two: Aaron's journey was very
entertaining and it made me crave for more, honestly, while the agency
storyline was enraging and stupid, from casting decisions to pointless
flashbacks all the way to zero consequences of the things they do to these poor
agents under the promise of "You will be saving American lives".
So
we arrive to the last movie, Jason
Bourne (2016), at least so far, even if I cannot really
imagine what it would be like to continue, mostly because this movie was
horrible. It really lacked ... everything I enjoyed in the other
movies. The biggest issue was, that the previous movies took time to
set up the side characters too. You could tell what each CIA director was
thinking, you could tell the struggle in Pamela Landy (Joan
Allen)'s eyes, you could tell that both Conklin (Chris
Cooper) and Noah Vosen (David
Strathairn) were scared of their actions, and Bourne,
catching up to them. I felt zero connection to any of the characters
represented in this movie: Robert Dewey (Tommy
Lee Jones) was completely uneffected by the events, Heather
Lee (Alicia
Vikander) played both sides in a way that was not convicing from any
angle, and the super secret agent or Asset (Vincent
Cassel) was closer to a mass murderer than a spy. Ultimately
all Bourne movies are the same: initial chase sequence, the calm before the
storm, on or two agents who care for him and want to help him, a major car
chase scene followed by a fight, ending in the awesome song by Moby. And
yet, despite the same recipe, the last one fell short in every account. Not to
mention, that them killing of Nicky Parsons (Julia
Stiles) instead of having her be with Jason after you
put your audience through 5 movies made me so pissed off that I don't think I
will ever forgive them. What a waste of a brilliant character for a quick
emotional jab at the audience...
So
watch them? Well, the original trilogy, definitely. Really good idea, stil
unique, it stands the trials of time. The "spin-off" was still very
smart when it came to 50% of the movie, and honestly, I did not miss Matt
Damon. The last one? Just skip it. All of them are on netflix, as far as I
could tell, so, since you are also probably forced to sit at home, have fun
re-watching them!
Until the next item on my list!
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