Unsuccessful ‘Jason Bourne’ leaves series on disappointing note

Blurry chase scenes, the memorable buzzes of the theme music and a classic plot of an intricate spy network all marked the fourth installment of The Bourne blockbuster franchise, “Jason Bourne.”

Released on July 29, the film stars Matt Damon as Bourne, an amnesiac ex-CIA spy trying to remember his prior identity. The movie follows Bourne on his quest to uncover hidden truths about his life from 10 years ago, including information about his deceased father and the men responsible for taking away his life and making him a covert CIA operative. But unlike the previous movies in the franchise, this installment, with its unrealistic action scenes and lackluster storyline, failed to impress.

As the bullets flew across the screen at ridiculous angles and the cliché storyline of an enemy as a hero’s love interest unraveled, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a Katherine Heigl rom-com.  

While the movie did maintain a good number of action scenes to satisfy my craving for car chases and daring jumps, it displayed scenes that were identical to those of the past installments. The once thought-provoking spy tactics, such as tracing calls and unleashing secret weapons, were outdated and average at best.

Additionally, in comparison to other popular spy movies like “Mission Impossible” and “James Bond,” “Jason Bourne” only scrapes the bottom of the barrel for anything close to a captivating plot.

Although the movie is supposed to follow Bourne finding out the truth about his father, I often became lost as the father is only mentioned a total of two times.

In the last minutes of the movie, however, director Paul Greengrass changes the whole series by tackily revealing the truth behind Bourne’s father's murder. Ending the Jason Bourne series much too abruptly, the film leaves viewers questioning the point of such a complex series if the suspenseful idea was given away in a matter of seconds.

Furthermore, in the first three movies, a young Damon was agile and clever. Now, 14 years after the first movie, Damon is much older and slower, and while his acting is still on point, Damon doesn’t look the part and is unable to attempt daring stunts like he once did in the past.

Another lead that fell short was actress Alicia Vikander, who portrayed the CIA agent and antagonist Heather Lee. Although Vikander is a talented actress and an Academy Award winner, her character in the film was adequate at best: She seemed to have little importance in the plot as all she did was make a pitiful attempt to stop Bourne in his tracks, which made her presence both unnecessary and annoying.

While the first three installments of the Bourne franchise set a benchmark for the category of spy movies, revisiting this trilogy with a fourth installment was a mistake. As an avid fan of the series, I wish I didn’t spend $12 to watch it because the movie failed to reach my expectations and, if anything, tainted a successful series.