Cool, fine, whatever

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2014)

I'm not a fan of the Bourne films. I don't hate them but I was never hugely invested in Jason Bourne's quest to uncover his past. Identity was boring and aside from a gritty tone didn't bring anything new to the table although to be fair to it, it has its moments and we needed it after James Bond surfed a poorly rendered tsunami, drove an invisible car and descended into self parody with Die Another Day. Supremacy has a few problems but benefited from Paul Greengrass' shaky camera-work. This is probably the best of the trilogy. Jason Bourne finds out the truth at last. It's highly regarded, but it's certainly not a great film or deserving of a place on IMDb top 250. It has the dullest action hero of all time with Matt Damon, who is no more than a zombie with muscles and although the seriousness partially works, the film often seems to suffocate itself in its own grit and at times gets rather dry.
There are some good bits, notably the final chase and an interesting set piece at Waterloo Station. The building jumping sequence was over-hyped as you can't really tell what is going on, but you have to admire Paul Greengrass as a filmmaker. The script is average, although there is a human side to it. This is a decent film with plenty of good moments but after a while the grittiness and constant downbeat conversations and conspiracy become boring and the trilogy ends on a somewhat abrupt note. Unfortunately, James Bond the year after this was released was almost impossible to tell apart from Jason Bourne. Despite its overload of grit, it is diverse with several different locations and types of scene covered and it is interesting to finally find out who Jason is. A satisfying conclusion overall and a watchable well made action thriller. A little actual sunshine wouldn't have hurt.
7/10