The Bourne franchise has now become one of the best action franchises of all-time. Identity gave us a really good film. But I don't anyone thought it could so good that they will become film of the year contenders. Well, that is what Greengrass when he came in to do Supremacy and Ultimatum. Sadly, Legacy never came close to the quality of the previous three. But it remained to be a solid action flick.
Like with most blockbusters, I wanted to avoid trailer at all costs and leave my verdict to the screening that I attended. I was certainly pumped for this as Damon and Greengrass were back, and I know how good they can be.
The opening third really gets you stuck in and felt like it never left. The story moves along nicely and the quality and intensity of the action is still there. Then the final act gives us an exciting finale while giving us a full understanding of our new characters. The best thing about me purposely not seeing trailers is being pleasantly surprised at people like Alicia Vikander and Vincent Cassel making appearance in important roles.
There are three main action set-pieces. First one is so visceral and exciting . The setting is incredibly well put together and vintage Greengrass in terms of the realism factor. It sets us up nicely and it hints that the old ways of the people in the original trilogy are beginning to be eliminated. The second one is a solid one in terms of action. But it is more about the dialogue and character development. It begins to see the transition. Then the final set-piece is very fulfilling and we see the beginning of a new era for Jason Bourne.
Despite all that, it is not as good as the other three. I can be cruel and that say this was a disappointment. But I can probably guess that it is tough to make another high quality action thriller within this franchise. It is almost on a par with Identity for me. But with the story not as being as strong in this one makes this the least best of the Matt Damon Bourne films. I am not going to say the worst, because they are all good. But at least it is easily better than Legacy, even though that it is a solid film.
The story is pretty good for the most part. I like the development from Bourne and the surprise depth that was given to the villains. However, there was one part of the story that felt out of place and reminded me of the of why the latest Bond film Spectre did not rivet me.
The performances are great all-round. We all know how good Matt Damon is, and he is no different. It was great to see Tommy Lee Jones put in a good performance, which I have not really seen since probably Lincoln. Alicia Vikander was a nice addition and I can see her continue her strive into the mainstream films. Vincent Cassel gave us a nice minor role that kept me interested. It was great to see Riz Ahmed be part of the team, and while his performance was really good. The story felt a bit out of the way, and should have been more interesting.
Definitely the biggest negative was the dialogue. It was not as compelling as it has been, and became noticeable early on. It was a real shame.
But thankfully it is made up for the rest being great. The action is high-octane, the characters are interesting, the performances are great and the overall experience is a pleasing one.
It is not often that even though you have seen a really good movie, you still feel frustrated. It is just that with the Bourne films, you expect high quality all the time. Especially from Paul Greengrass. Some bits of the film do slow it down, and the story was probably not as engaging or special as say the ones is Supremacy or Ultimatum. But this is still a great watch and I would still put it in as one of the best films I have seen this year.
Rating: 8/10
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