POOR JEREMY RENNER. Bounced out of the Bourne franchise, Conan OāBrien/Tonight Show-style, Rennerās nowhere to be seen in the fifth movie based on the character from Robert Ludlumās espionage books, and the fourth to star Matt Damonāalthough, oddly enough, for a movie named after Damonās character, Jason Bourne couldāve used a lot more of him.
Instead, director Paul Greengrass and his co-scriptwriter Christopher Rouse (also the movieās editor, interestingly) focus on a coterie of supporting characters, including Alicia Vikander as a smooth-skinned computer surveillance whiz, Vincent Cassel as a deadly āassetā (translation: assassin), and Tommy Lee Jones as a melted jack-oā-lantern whoās also head of the CIA. Theyāre all tracking Bourne, who discovered his real identity in 2007ās The Bourne Ultimatum and feels bad about all the people he killed, so heās taken on the life of a wandering bare-knuckle boxer, punching large men for cash throughout Eastern Europe.
The CIA wants to terminate Bourne because he knows too much, so Greengrassāin his trademark twitchy, obfuscated styleāwhisks us through three dazzling chase sequences: a rather intense police riot in the streets of Athens (a backdrop that seems a touch too serious for a frothy spy caper); a hunter-and-quarry foot chase in London; and a demolition derby on the boulevards of Las Vegas. That last one, unfortunately, has awful echoes of the recent tragedy in Nice, especially when cars pile up in front of the Riviera casino, of all places.
In between set pieces, thereās an incredibly stupid side plot about a social media platform called Deep Dream (huh?) thatās about to become the most powerful surveillance tool Tommy Lee Jonesā sunken eyes have ever seen. Itās all a bunch of gobbledygook, and Jason Bourneās goofy-ass plot devices are knotted a bit too tightly. But the action scenes are good, and thatās all you ever really need out of a Bourne movie.
Well, that and Matt Damon. Sorry, Jeremy.