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I love Ultimatum (I thought it was the perfect bookend) as well but I have to agree with you on the character building aspect. Supremacy especially built a man out of the myth that Doug Liman crafted - with the Irina Neski scene at the end being one of the finest exchanges in the whole series. We learn so much about Bourne as a person without actually being told those things in the dialogue. That's why I find Supremacy to be Damon's finest performance in the black long coat.
Yes, this film is by no means a game changer and could easily have come out in 2009 or thereabouts. I can understand some people being underwhelmed considering the wait. However, this film is a through and through Bourne film and Bourne is as unapologetically badass as ever.
From the familiar beat downs, brisk walks, to the ear pieces, John Powell music and quick pit stops at the nearest Internet Cafe to utilise a search engine had me smiling. That's all I need; a Bourne film that feels like a Bourne film.
The fisticuffs were great and the frequency of such fights were typical of past Damon entries and the fight between Bourne and Cassel's asset may have lacked the intricate choreography of a couple of past entries but the brutality of it was beyond satisfying. Speaking of Cassel I thought he did an amazing job and irrespective of his screen time he didn't disappoint.
Before watching the film, I was always adamant that if I could enjoy this more than SP then it would be a win for me and not only did this happen to be the case but Jason Bourne illustrated just how uncreative and pedestrian a film maker Mendes is when it comes to this genre of film making. The bike chase in Greece and then the car chase in Vegas massacre whatever the hell the 2 so called chasers in SP were (the snow plane chase/Rome chase). I just like the made to look simple yet incredibly inventive approach applied to these Bourne films where something as minor as Bourne walking and looking over his shoulder gets one's heart racing.
The overall sense of urgency, hyped by the pounding score and the need to act and think fast from Bourne and his antagonists are creatively put together as per usual but these are small things than make a huge difference for these sort of films that give it the edge it needs to be fully immersed into this murky world where irrespective of being good or bad you can die at any time by any one.
This Bourne film isn't perfect and has its fair share of problems, the quick cut editting reached max factor levels of 11 at times and
As it stands my ranking:
Supremacy
Identity
Ultimatum
Jason Bourne
02) The Bourne Identity
03) The Bourne Legacy
04) The Bourne Supremacy
05) Jason Bourne
I may be wrong, but I think I think what @Gustav_Graves might be alluding to is that it's a less expansive and multi-layered proposition than Bond. I think it's pretty hard, whichever way you cut it, to imagine any genuine longevity in the franchise. Both it and M:I are vehicles for their respective stars. They attempted to expand with Renner and then balked, and it remains to be seen what happens to M:I in a post-Cruise world (it has a better shot than Bourne IMO).
The trouble these days is that everyone wants an ongoing franchise or multi-verse and the simple fact is that some stories and characters don't lend themselves to this model. Sometimes you just have to step away. Bond has become about so much more than the man himself, it's a cultural institution that is afforded time to refresh and change direction. I'm not sure that is, or will, be the case with Bourne. Much like a Rocky, or Rambo, or Die Hard it is bound to its template and star.
http://variety.com/2016/film/news/matt-damon-box-office-jason-bourne-1201827295/
I think it can be done, both with MI & Bourne, but one has to get creative. You just can't insert some chump (sorry Renner) as a replacement in both cases. Both Bourne and Hunt can take on different and more senior roles within a broader universe, but one needs a solid charismatic lead to anchor it.
That's what all franchises have to wrestle with these days (including the upcoming 'young' McClane in DH6). There just doesn't seem to be that many American leads with any heft in their 30s out there except for Chris Pine/Pratt, which is why they are both somewhat overexposed as it is.
I thought Bourne/Damon also brought more emotion here than he did with Supremacy & Ultimatum. Many scenes were similar to Identitiy in this regard. The scene with Malcolm Smith brought back a feeling of how desperate, frustrated, & angry he was similarly in Identity.
Marshall isn't saying that Renner is out in the future, though, which I don't think the writer got. He's saying that nobody will play Bourne but Matt, and nothing more. There's still the chance of a future movie team-up between Bourne and Cross, if they want to go that route. I think that'd be interesting, especially if the first time they meet they get into a fist fight.
I agree with all of this. At the time I found Ultimatum a little overrated over Supremacy - although I enjoy it an awful lot more during a Bourne marathon - and find Jason Bourne a better follow up to Ultimatum than Ultimatum was to Supremacy but appreciate this is the minority view!
Damon is a man of few words in this film but you do see glimpses of a more emotional and compassionate side to him that has been missing in the previous three films.
If the franchise is to continue that side of the character has to develop more so we can invest in him.
That said his almost robotic machine like crusade to avenge himself on Dewey and the asset was very satisfying.
I'm beginning to agree as well. I've always found Ultimatum to be the weakest of the original trilogy and essentially a retread of Supremacy albeit with phenomenal action. Jason Bourne does have some interesting elements that are a little different from the first three, so I'd rate it just a little higher than the third film but well below the first two benchmark trend setters.
I loved Identity for the almost European arthouse action spy thriller feel and wanted Bond to go in that direction but Supremacy (whilst perhaps now suffering a little as the middle part of a trilogy) just blew me away at the time. It was that film which made me appreciate the Bourne franchise as something really special and evolved the spy film genre.
I therefore had no problems with the Craig Bond films going in that direction as they absolutely needed to in order to stay relevant. I was pleased with CR but partly wished it had the tauter pacing of Supremacy. I guess with QOS we eventually got that even if it was as much by accident as well as design.
As you say the current film benefits from being less of a retread of its predecessor like Ultimatum was. It's no mean feat for Damon and Greengrass to come back after all this time and successfully evoke the feel of Supremacy and Ultimatum but whilst telling us a different story on this occasion.
I like how in the narrative of the film the powers that be toy with the idea of Bourne working for them again - and how we're teased with this possibility right at the end - which plays along with the audience's knowledge of how the studio are considering to extend the franchise.
Bourne has proved you can return to past glories let's hope Bond 25 can do too.
I actually would rank Ultimatum the best of the original trilogy. I disliked the fourth one a lot so this was a fresh breath of air. It's been a long time since watching the first three so I'm going to re-watch them shortly and do a new ranking afterwards.
Jason looks very pleased to see you, or is that just a big gun ? ;)
Legacy looks like Casino Royale in comparison to this absolute garbage bag of a film. I was really excited for this when I saw it announced, even though it disappointed me that they were undermining the bookends of Ultimatum. How wrong of me.
Don't watch this movie.
1/10
Bourne is more difficult because the brand is synomynous with that character. They'd have to recast imo (and more importantly, transition into new storiee not just Bourne taking on the CIA again, I've been saying for ages that they should make him a Reacher esque figure). But I'm of the opinion that if you can recast Bond after Sean Connery you can recast anyone. They just need to do an OHMSS and really fire on all cylinders to make the audience forget about Damon. Look at Mad Max 4 for another example, there were no negative comparisons with Mel Gibson or the old ones because the film was so fantastic. And Bourne is more similar to Max than Bond in the sense that the character isn't necessarily the main draw, it's what happens to him: he's more of a mysterious enigmatic type rather than a full on charismatic unforgettable presence like Bond.
Just goes to show what an achievement it was by Roger to reinvent the character to allow the series to move on after Sean.
It's the greatest achievement in the series.
http://screenrant.com/jason-bourne-matt-damon-recasting/
That's patently untrue.
I still liked him a lot as Aaron Cross.
I enjoyed that one too, but it was a financial disappointment at the box office.