Plot
When a long dormant mission within the CIA called “Blackbriar” is made aware from a Whistleblower to a famed reporter, Jason Bourne comes out of hiding to discover what the mission was, and how it is connected to his past. Will Jason finally discover who he really is, before those within the CIA finally put him down?
Direction
Directed by Paul Greengrass, who returns to direct having directed the previous film.
Similar to his first outing, there are lots of quick cuts, with some of the heavy action pieces. I found the action to be upped somewhat this time, and Damon’s physicality much more prominent.
Cast
Returning to the franchise are of course Jason Bourne himself Matt Damon (I mean, why have a Jason Bourne film, without Jason Bourne… checks next sequel… oh).
Also returning for the third time is Julia Stiles as Nicky, who assists Bourne in his quest for the truth of his past.
Returning from Supremacy is Joan Allen, as Pam Landy – still a CIA bigwig, who believes that Bourne should be brought in rather than ‘taken out’.
New additions include;
David Strathairn as Noah Vossen – Landy’s boss, who will authorise the execution without provocation – and with ruthless apathy.
Scott Glen, as Ezra Kramer, the new CIA Director. He only appears a handful of times, and is slightly underused.
Albert Finney – as the ‘voice of Jason’s past’ and the Dr who helped create the machine he is today,
Paddy Considine as Ross, a reporter who is given the information about Blackbriar – that leads Bourne to come out of hiding and discover the truth once and for all.
Breakdown
Following fairly soon after The Bourne Supremacy, we see Jason, still on the lam – being chased by the police in an exciting – “get right to the point” opening. We also learn that the CIA has some new bigwigs in charge, Scott Glen’s Ezra Kramer, and David Strathairn’s Noah Vossen… both who feel as though Bourne is a threat and should be eliminated.
An “unknown” (at first) whistleblower contacts Simon Ross, a high powered reporter for The Guardian – who has been writing on Bourne. The whistleblower reveals a secret operation, called Blackbriar that followed Treadstone. When the CIA discover Ross might know about it, he is targeted for assassination, and Bourne must first meet with him to find out what exactly Blackbriar is, as well as get Ross to safety (sadly, not so lucky for poor Ross… at least we didn’t have an entire movie and love story between him and Bourne before he the back of his head blown out… poor Marie. Speaking of, Jason is still in mourning of her, and must head to her brothers to give the bad news.
Bourne is still trying to piece together his past, and at this stage we’re not sure if this is still because of the Wombosi incident, or because of the psychological training he went through.
The majority of the film has lots of interdepartmental arguments between the bigwigs (Vossen) and the middle management (Landy) about what to do with Bourne. Vossen at one stage even puts a hit on Nicky, without even getting the facts first, because she is helping Bourne. If lesser actors had these scenes, it wouldn’t have been as solid – but the shear talent of David Strathairn and Joan Allen is extraordinary – I just loved every moment between them!!!
Thankfully Nicky Parsons is still around, and has some semblance of empathy and humanity that she agrees to help Bourne. I generally enjoyed the platonic friendship between her and Jason. She is clearly trying to help him piece together his past. I was glad that they didn’t become a love interest, and sure hope she gets to have a long and happy life once Bourne is free of the CIA……..
The International locations are wonderful too, with such great locations as Moscow and Morocco. There is an amazingly choreographed motorcycle rooftop chase sequence here that is on par with the mini cooper car chase sequence in #1. There is also one epic scene in which Bourne is trying to find Nicky before The Asset (or assassin) finds them – and the camera follows Bourne as he jumps from one building to another. Brilliant!
Bourne’s eventual discover of what Blackbriar is (his training on ‘how he came to be who he was’ – leaves the film open ended, and ready for a sequel… starring Jeremy Renner aparently.
Overall
Solid third entry in the franchise is a step up from the stellar second film, with great performances from all involved.
With better action set pieces than the second film (still slightly behind the first) – the continuation of Bourne’s story is compelling, well directed and leaves you wanting more. Looking forward to the next couple of films… even if Matt Damon isn’t in them both.
4/5
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