Jason Bourne [Blu-Ray]

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander

Release Date: December 6, 2016

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass, the director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, once again joins Damon for the next chapter of Universal Pictures’ Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA’s most lethal operative drawn out of the shadows. Damon is joined by Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel and Tommy Lee Jones, while Julia Stiles reprises her role in the series.

‘Jason Bourne’; the fifth (or fourth featuring the titular character) entry in the franchise rejoins the troubled Jason Bourne (Damon) who after staying under the radar for quite some time resurfaces in order to help his longtime colleague Nicky (Stiles) who has uncovered crucial data regarding not only Bourne’s past, but hidden elements regarding his long dead father who may have been far more involved in the Treadstone program than Bourne had believed. Desperate to uncover the truth behind his past and his father’s death after these unexpected revelations, Bourne sets out on a violent quest to learn the whole story and confront the person(s) responsible while being simultaneously pursued by tactical teams hunting him down, along with a special asset who also has a personal stake in the matter and intends to see Bourne put down definitively.

Directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) who returns to the franchise guiding a script he also co-wrote with his longtime Editor Christopher Rouse who makes his screenwriting debut, Greengrass does a solid job at the helm of ‘Jason Bourne’ capturing the spectacular action and escalating insanity within the latest entry quite well. The latest addition the series features some returning franchise cast members along with a number of newcomers and includes Matt Damon once again portraying the title role, along with Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), Julia Stiles (The Bourne Identity), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and a number more, nearly all of whom deliver capable performances in each of their respective roles.

‘Jason Bourne’ delivers plenty of visually stunning action, journeying through various countries and bringing all of the mayhem and clever intensity that the series’ fans have come to love. The latest franchise entry also sees the return of Director Paul Greengrass back at the helm and star Matt Damon once again reprising his iconic role. While the action is certainly top notch and escalates the insanity to unprecedented levels that should easily keep viewers glued to the screen, unfortunately ‘Jason Bourne’ tends to forgo the clever storytelling and intricate plot structure of its predecessors, instead opting for creating the most impressive visual spectacle possible. The storyline is simple enough, although largely rehashes familiar aspects which seem to be approaching the level of silly by this point. Fortunately the capable guidance of Greengrass and the talented cast including (and most importantly) Damon easily jumping back into the beloved title role along with a plethora of gorgeous over the top chases and action packed tension should help to keep the less picky individuals content throughout. ‘Jason Bourne’ certainly isn’t the best entry in the ongoing series, but it delivers many of the key elements fans have come to appreciate and is definitely quite the enjoyable ride overall, therefore those who enjoyed the previous Bourne films will definitely want to give this one a shot when they have the chance, it’s definitely well worth the cost of a rental at the very least.

Overall, ‘Jason Bourne’ is a tense, action packed and enjoyable addition to the franchise which also sees the anticipated return of Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon once again stepping back into Bourne’s shoes. The latest entry ups the ante in the spectacular action department and delivers some of the most extravagant chases and action sequences yet. The storyline is the film’s weakest point and largely recycles the general concepts and storylines of previous movies which detracts from the clever aura usually present within. As a whole the stunning action and return to basics in many ways should provide most fans a thoroughly enjoyable ride, even if it may not be one of the best installments we’ve had the pleasure of. Albeit its faults, I would still highly recommend Bourne fans make a point of checking out ‘Jason Bourne’ when you have the opportunity to do so.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Jason Bourne’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty fantastic as a whole and delivers a sharp, clean and detailed presentation throughout. It holds up admirably even during the numerous somewhat shaky, fast moving and/or darkly lit sequences and never results in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is another top notch high definition video presentation from Universal that’s complimented by a more than adequate bitrate and should easily please the franchise fans and casual viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a DTS: X (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA presentation. This lossless multichannel soundtrack makes a fantastic compliment to the film and provides a consistently crisp, clean and wildly aggressive audio presentation. Constantly utilizing all seven available channels in order to immerse the viewer within the score, in addition to sending a plethora of bullets, debris, vehicles, and more whipping throughout the various speakers, and never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is an outstanding and incredibly fun DTS: X (7.1 channel DTS-HD MA compatible) soundtrack that contributes perfectly to the overall viewing experience and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Jason Bourne’ includes a few notable extras that take you deeper into the making of the film. Included on the release are a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the film to life and include behind the scenes footage, interviews/comments with the cast and crew and more. The included Featurettes are: ‘Bringing Back Bourne’ (running approximately 8 minutes in length), ‘Bourne to Fight’ which is broken down into three segments: ‘Bare-Knuckle Boxing’, ‘Close Quarters’ and ‘Underground Rumble’ (approximately 18 minutes altogether), along with ‘The Athens Escape’ (approximately 6 minutes), and ‘Las Vegas Showdown’ which is split into two segments: ‘Convention Chaos’ and ‘Shutting Down the Strip’ (approximately 15 minutes combined).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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