The Bourne Series

[Athena]

Matt Damon will be back in the fifth Bourne film expected to be released summer 2016. Julia Stiles returns with Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, and Vincent Cassel. Feel free to share news and anticipation on this new film.

 

What are your thoughts on this series as a whole? Which movies did you like? Did you like Renner and Bourne Legacy?

[toomuchtv47]

I liked Legacy.  It entertained me but nothing will compare with the original Bourne.  I got so much about the character in the first movie and I rooted for him even when I found out about the bad shit he'd done.  I don't know if it was the script, director or actor but I got invested and cared.  Renner was fine, I do like him as an actor but there was a barrier with his character.  I knew more about Jason with his amnesia than I did about Renner (I've totally blanked on the name).

 

But Original Recipe Jason Bourne is coming back!!!  That pleases me.

[Rick Kitchen]

I prefer Renner, and I would love to see him take over both the Mission:Impossible and Bourne series.

[Ohwell]

I'd also like to see Renner in future MI movies.  Regarding the Bourne series, I think Matt Damon needs to wrap up his role as Jason Bourne so I hope this is his last film in that role.  Then, I'd like for Renner to take over.  

[ChelseaNH]

I liked Legacy okay, but it didn't have the character payoff of the Damon films.  Aaron's goal was to stay the same as he was, which just isn't as dramatic as recovering your lost life.

 

For Bourne's return, I think it makes sense for him to look out for Pam Landy.  Just as long as they don't fridge her so that this time, it's personal again some more.

[topanga]

I liked Legacy okay, but it didn't have the character payoff of the Damon films.  Aaron's goal was to stay the same as he was, which just isn't as dramatic as recovering your lost life.

 

For Bourne's return, I think it makes sense for him to look out for Pam Landy.  Just as long as they don't fridge her so that this time, it's personal again some more.

I agree. I didn't feel connected to Renner the way I did to Jason Bourne. 

 

I don't understand what you mean by Pamela Landy being fridged. And did you mean that it will be personal for Bourne, Landy, or both?

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Not feelin Matty these days, plus I don't care much for BLAND Vikander.

I also enjoyed Bourne Legacy, but it looks like there won't be a sequel

Sigh...

[ChelseaNH]

I don't understand what you mean by Pamela Landy being fridged. And did you mean that it will be personal for Bourne, Landy, or both?

 

The movie needs a reason for Bourne to come out of hiding and do awesome spy stuff.  I can see him being motivated by a desire to help Pam Landy, who was discredited by the corrupt CIA guys in the Bourne-less sequel.  What I don't want to see is the corrupt CIA guys killing off Pam (a trope referred to as fridging) so that Bourne is motivated by revenge, rather than a more abstract sense of justice.

[AnnaMayWong]

I don't care for Renner's acting whether in: BOURNE, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, or Marvel's AVENGERS. Yet, I am unsure as to whom should replace Matt Damon.

[BetterButter]

[SimoneS]

I don't care for Renner's acting whether in: BOURNE, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, or Marvel's AVENGERS. Yet, I am unsure as to whom should replace Matt Damon.

 

I think that Renner lacks the charisma to be a leading man in action movies. 

[VCRTracking]

At least they brought Julia Stiles back. Although I didn't like the retcon in ULTIMATUM that her character Nicky and Bourne were involved romantically before he became part of Treadstone. That didn't make sense with their interactions in the previous movies.

[AstaCharles]

I think that Renner lacks the charisma to be a leading man in action movies.

I'm the opposite, I think Renner is more entertaining than Damon. He can pull off those Bruce Willis-everyman wise-ass-comedic action roles . I haven't seen an entire Damon-Bourne movie, because I end up changing the channel at some point. Damon is a bit on the bland side for me.

[jacksgirl]

Love me some Matt Damon. Jeremy Reemer is fine, but the original is better. I'll be at the theatre July 29.

[VCRTracking]

 

I'm the opposite, I think Renner is more entertaining than Damon. He can pull off those Bruce Willis-everyman wise-ass-comedic action roles . I haven't seen an entire Damon-Bourne movie, because I end up changing the channel at some point. Damon is a bit on the bland side for me.

 

I like that Damon brings an intelligence to all his characters, even in his early roles like The Rainmaker.

[topanga]

On 4/22/2016 at 9:59 PM, jacksgirl said:

Love me some Matt Damon. Jeremy Reemer is fine, but the original is better. I'll be at the theatre July 29.

I'm excited about this new installment, but I'm also afraid that it won't live up to my expectations. I enjoyed the first 3 Bourne movies tremendously and still watch them on a regular basis.  (I never warmed up to the Bourne Legacy). I worry about being disappointed. 

But yes, I'll be there on the 29th.

[Chaos Theory]

Saw this with my father.  He enjoyed it a lot. Typical Jason Borne movie.  Nothing really new but still fun to watch if you enjoy the series.  I went for the free movie and because it's been awhile since I saw a movie in the theater.  I enjoyed it as well.  Fun action movie for those who like fun action movies just don't expect anything new or special.

[Shriekingeel]

As one who liked Bourne Legacy (which I thought was the most suspenseful of the series) I was glad that they tossed us the tiniest of bones with the mention of OUTCOME and LARX in the list of black ops programs beginning with Treadstone. I was actually expecting them to ignore the Legacy continuity completely, and they nearly did. For example they use file footage of Hirsch/Albert Finney but if you didn't see Legacy you wouldn't know that he'd been bumped off. 

[Rick Kitchen]

I've always enjoyed the Bourne movies (though, UO, I liked Jeremy Renner better than Matt Damon), and Jason Bourne is no exception.  Loved the extended Athens fight and escape, and the Las Vegas car chase was exceptional  The final encounter was brutal as heck.  So, yeah, I'm entertained.  I don't like that they killed Nicky (I'm in love with Julia Styles), and the biggest plot hole for me was how they were able to track Nicky all over Europe by facial recognition, but not Bourne.

Man, Alicia Vikander was as cold in this as she was as a robot in Ex Machina.

Interesting that they cast Riz Ahmed (is he of Arabic ethnicity) as the software guru without going with "Arab terrorist".

Edited July 30, 2016 by Rick Kitchen

[ZoqFotPik]

5 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

don't like that they killed Nicky (I'm in love with Julia Styles), and the biggest plot hole for me was how they were able to track Nicky all over Europe by facial recognition, but not Bourne.

I felt that was too similar to Franka Pontente's death in 'Supremacy'. Also, Bourne has been shown in previous movies to be able to spot and avoid cameras, so I don't think that is too big of a plot hole. Also, it's been a while, but I'm pretty sure the CIA thinks he is dead as 'Ultimatum', so they may not have been actively looking for him.

I thought it was just alright, not a bad movie, but not as good as the original 3. I liked Ato Essandoh in "Copper" and "Elementary", but felt he was wasted here. Alicia Vikander was good, as was Tommy Lee Jones, but there are very few movies where he isn't. Overall, I think it setup some interesting ideas, like what was going on with Kalloor, as he seemed to have a change of heart after he was shot, and what Heather Lee's plans are. I hope Bourne got rid of that star as soon as he walked away. 

Also, I worked at Valley Hospital in Las Vegas for 4 and a half years

[Eyes High]

The movie had many, many issues (Vincent Cassel's character being the asset activated to take out Bourne who also conveniently turns out to be someone who played a very specific role in Bourne's life many years ago), but the worst part for me was that enormous, ugly, black plastic claw hair clip Alicia Vikander was wearing for most of the movie. I laughed the first time it showed up on screen. I haven't seen someone wear one of those since the 1990s.

It was a cheat that the big climactic sequence was in Vegas and not in a European city.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Eyes High

[Shannon L.]

We're going tonight because this was a majority rules decision.  Not that I'm upset--I like a good action movie and Matt Damon, but all I remember from the Bourne series are the plot of the first movie and the fact that I liked it.  I did see the Jeremy Renner one, but may have even missed one of the Matt Damon series.  And, like I said, remember almost nothing about any of them except the plot of number one.  Am I going to be lost?  Should I make some time today to read synopses of them all?

[Rick Kitchen]

Response to my above question concerning Riz Ahmed - he is of Pakistani ancestry.

[topanga]

On 7/31/2016 at 8:30 AM, Eyes High said:

The movie had many, many issues (Vincent Cassel's character being the asset activated to take out Bourne who also conveniently turns out to be someone who played a very specific role in Bourne's life many years ago), but the worst part for me was that enormous, ugly, black plastic claw hair clip Alicia Vikander was wearing for most of the movie. I laughed the first time it showed up on screen. I haven't seen someone wear one of those since the 1990s.

It was a cheat that the big climactic sequence was in Vegas and not in a European city.

I thought I was the only one who kept being distracted by the hair clip. Where in the heck did they find that one? I used to have a hair clip just like that--30 years ago. I liked Alicia's performance just fine (I haven't seen any of her other projects), but her wavering American accent really bothered me. I thought she was British--just saw that she's Swedish. If she couldn't hold an American accent for the entire movie, couldn't they have said she was a military brat raised somewhere in Europe (I don't think the US has any military bases in Sweden), which would explain her accent?

I think this movie suffered from trying to go to the well one too many times. I absolutely loved the first three Bourne movies--they are constantly in the rotation whenever I need an action movie with a good plot, and I even liked the Bourne Legacy once I gave it a chance. But the story line for this movie bored me, I must say. Avenging his father's death wasn't a compelling enough reason for Jason to come out of hiding and go after the CIA. I found myself bored through the lot of the movie. 

The action scenes were good, but they were filmed in the classic Greenglass shaky, hand-held camera style, and since many of them were filmed in dark settings, I lost some of the details. Which means I didn't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the action scenes in the other movies. Nicky's death did shock and sadden me. I'd always thought she and Jason might hook up again. 

And maybe it's just me, but I didn't like the asset. First of all, he talked too much. And he had these snarky comments for the CIA director, which goes against how I thought assets were trained. Don't they just take orders and kill as directed? I don't know if the new training programs are different, but back in my day, an asset would never say, "This isn't a good time." 

[Traveller519]

This one truly felt like a sequel for a sequel's sake as opposed to really moving any plot forward. The "your father created the program" feels like a plot point for season 6 of a fledgling network drama.

I've been a big fan of the original trilogy. Especially Identity and Ultimatum. Legacy I enjoyed as a parallel story. This one had all the visual elements and good performances, but the writing and story just weren't enough for me. The Vegas scene was better than I thought, but it still doesn't quite compare to the traditional European settings with which the series has strived.

And if I'm watching Matt Damon and Vincent Cassell square off in Vegas, I've decided it's much aided by an overly handsey Ellen Barken.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

This one truly felt like a sequel for a sequel's sake as opposed to really moving any plot forward. The "your father created the program" feels like a plot point for season 6 of a fledgling network drama.

I've been a big fan of the original trilogy. Especially Identity and Ultimatum. Legacy I enjoyed as a parallel story. This one had all the visual elements and good performances, but the writing and story just weren't enough for me. The Vegas scene was better than I thought, but it still doesn't quite compare to the traditional European settings with which the series has strived.

And if I'm watching Matt Damon and Vincent Cassell square off in Vegas, I've decided it's much aided by an overly handsey Ellen Barken.

And all the effort to get a 50 year old super soldier back into the game even if they killed off all the Outcome agents  you still had men like the Asset  from the other programs still around, and every city in the world seems to have teams of men ready to kill with no thought of collateral damage seems odd.

[Ohwell]

I saw this today.  It was OK but they shouldn't have killed Nicky.  That pissed me off.  Otherwise, I don't have anything else to add to what's already been posted.

[magdalene]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

I saw this today.  It was OK but they shouldn't have killed Nicky.  That pissed me off.  Otherwise, I don't have anything else to add to what's already been posted.

Nods.  The killing of Nicky kind of spoiled the movie for me.  I watched the other Bourne movies multiple times.  I don't feel like re-watching this one at all.

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, magdalene said:

Nods.  The killing of Nicky kind of spoiled the movie for me.  I watched the other Bourne movies multiple times.  I don't feel like re-watching this one at all.

I don't feel like re-watching this one either.

I have to add, though, that I thought the chase scene between Bourne and the Asset was just over-the-top ridiculous.  One of the things that bugs me with car chase scenes in general is the collateral damage--dead and injured people--they leave behind to catch one guy.   Bourne could see that that's just what was happening, yet he still continued to chase the guy.

[Proclone]

18 hours ago, magdalene said:

Nods.  The killing of Nicky kind of spoiled the movie for me.  I watched the other Bourne movies multiple times.  I don't feel like re-watching this one at all.

I actually never really liked the character of Nicky in any of the Bourne movies (despite really liking Julia Stiles as an actress) she most seemed to exist to say stilted lines ("There are bodies in the street!") and have her back story changed without really any thought to what came before (her and Bourne were sleeping together? Sure could have fooled me), but I didn't like how she was killed off after surviving the other movies.  I called her death early and was just hoping I was wrong, but nope.  Plus her death seemed very much like a re-tread of Maria's death, only this time wasn't at all surprising or really that emotionally resonant like Maria's death was.  There whole movie was like that for me, very paint by numbers.  It felt like they were ticking off boxes with this one..."Ok, we got a car chase, check.." instead of making an interesting movie.  I know there are always going to be certain elements that appear in a Bourne film, but this just felt...soulless to me.  The acting was good, the action was good, but something about it just felt cold to me, YMMV of course.  Sticking Bourne's (or I guess more accurately Webb's) father in and making him the genesis of treadstone didn't move me in anyway nor did his death.  The only character I was really interested in was Alicia Vikander's Heather Lee.  I liked that we never really knew what side she was on and I still wasn't 100% sure even at the end, but generally this felt this movie felt more like a part one of another trilogy of Bourne films with her as the main antagonist rather than a movie that can stand on it's own.  I won't be re-watching nor do I think I will be seeing anymore Bourne films in the theater unless there are some spectacular reviews.

[VCRTracking]

[topanga]

Hilarious! Thanks for this. I loved how the trailer taglines showed how similar the movies are. 

"Old-ass computer monitors." Tee-hee. 

[ribboninthesky1]

Way late, but Jason Bourne was recently released on Google Play, and I had some Play dollars to use up by the end of the month.  My sister recommended this.  I'm probably one of the few people who vastly prefers Doug Liman's Bourne Identity out of the Damon films.  The little good will I had for the series (because the films largely worked in spite of Damon-blandness for me) was pretty much destroyed because of the BS retconning with the father.  I thought Bourne as a man who had to live with the fact that he volunteered for the program and murdered lots of people out of some misguided sense of patriotism was a lot more interesting than what was presented here.  Also, any notion I had that Bourne was a grittier, more grounded version of Bond pretty much ended with this one. I get that Bourne is resilient, but it was particularly absurd in this.  The only thing missing was Bourne sleeping with all women he came into contact with.

Also, maybe I'm not seeing Vikander in the right films, but I don't get why Hollywood is trying to make her happen.  At least I bought Julia Stiles as an intelligent analyst.  Vikander wasn't remotely convincing. 

[Ohwell]

7 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Also, maybe I'm not seeing Vikander in the right films, but I don't get why Hollywood is trying to make her happen.  At least I bought Julia Stiles as an intelligent analyst.  Vikander wasn't remotely convincing. 

I agree about Vikander.  I've seen her in a few films and she just doesn't work for me.  The only one I thought she was decent in was The Danish Girl so maybe she's better in action-less films.  

[Just Here]

USA Network has ordered a pilot for a "Treadstone" prequel series (via Deadline):

Quote

Treadstone, an action-packed drama that delves into the CIA black ops program known as Operation Treadstone from Universal Pictures’ Bourne film franchise. It hails from Heroes creator Tim Kring.

...

Written by Kring, Treadstone explores the origin story and present-day actions of a CIA black ops program known as Treadstone — a covert operation that uses behavior modification protocol to turn its agents into nearly unstoppable superhuman assassins. The series follows sleeper agents across the globe as they’re mysteriously “awakened” to resume their deadly missions.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Just Here
formatting

[HunterHunted]

I just watched 2 seasons of Beyond. Tim Kring produced that too. I have no faith in him as an executive producer. 

[WritinMan]

I love (and own) the first trilogy. Great action movies and a lot of fun. If I find one on TV, I will always stop and watch.

The Bourne Legacy was pretty good. Been awhile since if I've seen it. I should probably give it another shot.

I didn't really like Jason Bourne.

 

On 12/27/2016 at 12:31 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

Also, maybe I'm not seeing Vikander in the right films, but I don't get why Hollywood is trying to make her happen.  At least I bought Julia Stiles as an intelligent analyst.  Vikander wasn't remotely convincing. 

I agree with this. I just don't get the hype surrounding her. And I've seen quite a few of her movies.

Edited April 13, 2018 by WritinMan

[BetterButter]

New ‘Jason Bourne’ Pic In The Works At Universal With ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’s Edward Berger In Talks To Direct