A conversation between two critics, from the perspective of a die-hard Bourne fan, and a person who has not seen the previous Bourne films. Spoilers below.
Citlalli: What did you think of the movie?
Grace: I was Bourne ready for it!
Citlalli: Cheeky. Puns aside, what are your thoughts?
Grace: I thought the beginning was too fast paced in terms of action, but the fighting and car scenes did not disappoint. The opening with the violent riot was a lot to follow: The camera movement was intense and a lot was going on — it felt as if viewers were present at the scene. What did you think of it?
Citlalli: To be honest I think that the beginning and ending of “Jason Bourne” were the best parts of the film. The Greek demonstration was realistic and the quick camera movement created a feeling of chaos. I think that this was meant to simulate what a real demonstration would be like. I do agree that at times the camera movement went a little overboard. What did you think of the action overall in the movie?
Grace: The fighting scenes were fantastic. Well-choreographed, and Bourne (Matt Damon) was very resourceful with the weapons he chose to use. The sound effects were well-timed as well and added another dimension of realism to the fights.
Citlalli: What did you think of the characters? I thought that the CIA agent character, Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), was a little subdued and could have benefitted from more character development. However, I did like the Mark Zuckerberg CEO-type character Aaron Kaloor (Riz Ahmed). His presence made the situation more believable. As the CEO of the mega social networking site Deep Dream, he struggled to balance privacy and public security for his clients.
Grace: Unlike the previous films in the trilogy, “Jason Bourne” focuses more on a story arc that confronts the issues of privacy and government surveillance, as well as following up with Bourne’s continual search to uncover the secrets of his past. This aspect was important because it bridged the gap between the previous movies and brought back fans to the first movie. However, the flashbacks that Bourne had were too frequent, and although it adds an element of mystery and provides context for plot development, it was repetitive and excessive at times.
Citlalli: I thought what made this movie boring for me was the lack of meaningful dialogue. No substantial interactions between the characters prevented me from growing attached to any of them as people. That’s mainly why the end fight between Jason Bourne and Asset (Vincent Cassel) was so underwhelming. They probably exchanged two words to each other before Bourne choked Asset to death. Their history and deep-rooted hate towards each other didn’t lead to a dramatic confrontation, which I found pretty disappointing. However, their epic car chase before their fight made up for it!
Grace: A lot of police cars were sacrificed in the process but that scene was entertaining and even overshadowed the final fighting scene. The last fight scene was highly anticipated but anti-climactic. Usually when it is between two equally matched opponents, it drags on forever with the two matching each other blow for blow. This one did not do the characters justice. Although well-choreographed, there was not much of a confrontation with Bourne’s past, and was not enough after the impressive car chase.
Citlalli: Surprisingly, I found the car chase hilarious. The absolute absurdity of it totally made the movie worth watching, even though I had to wait until the end. For the most part, it was pretty boring, but the action scenes at least partially salvaged it.
Grace: Perhaps we can look forward to a sequel that continues to delve further into the issues of privacy and government spying in the future?
Contact Grace Lam at gracelam95122 ‘at’ gmail.com, and Citlalli Contreras at 17ccontreras ‘at’ castilleja.org.