Jason Bourne (2016)

☆ ☆ ☆

Jason Bourne (2016) – P. Greengrass

Director Paul Greengrass and star Matt Damon return to the Bourne franchise.  They invest the proceedings with a definite amount of zing, as do Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones as (possibly) duplicitous leaders of the CIA.  However, at this point, it is hard not to see that what once used to be fresh (dynamic editing, pulsing music, non-stop action sequences) is now part of a (successful) formula.  Nevertheless, even when watched on the small screen on an airplane, the film feels exciting.  Vincent Cassel makes a solid evil villain (“the asset”) and his inclusion allows more of Bourne’s backstory to be explained.  Is he ready to come in from the cold?  Is he even more angry now that he knows more about the Treadstone program?  Still, even with a few additions to the Bourne story, the plot here is only skeletal with just enough to hang the action sequences on.   Much like a Chinese takeaway meal, after you are finished, you may feel hungry again.