Bourne Again

Went and saw the new Bourne movie this evening.  I wish I'd rewatched the third one before seeing this one.  I remember some of it, but not as much as I would have liked, I think.

It started in a kind of .. ADD fashion.  It was flitting from one spot to the next.  There were a number of short scenes with the new hero (Aaron) in a training ground in Alaska.  We see some high-level spooks, as well.

The spooks are worried about spillover from Bourne's actions, and about having to shut down several other programs related to the one that produced Jason Bourne.

Of course, with a program like that, "shut down" means kill everyone involved.  The particular program most of interest in this movie is one called ALCOM, of which Aaron is an agent and which is driven by drugs taken regularly.

Aaron's need for the drugs, after the program is shut down, drives him to find one of the doctors involved.  The two of them need to help each other escape.

So, how was the execution of the movie?  Mostly pretty good.  High-energy, lots of frenetic cuts, lots of action.  But was it good?

That's a bit tougher.  It definitely had some flaws.  Introducing a new enemy three-quarters of the way through was not good (a good enemy needs more than ten seconds of build-up to be believable, and feel threatening).  Having him recognized instantly, especially since it was at quite a distance, was also not good.  But the biggest flaw was the ending.  It didn't really feel like much was resolved; it just ended.

So what was good?  The action parts were pretty convincing.  They had a tiny bit of a Terminator vibe (you know, where Biehn comes back to help Hamilton, and as the movie progresses, she needs to shoulder more and more of the load), but it lasted only half a minute or so.  They had cameos by pretty much all of the surviving principals of the last movie (except Damon, who appeared only as a picture).  The ending was ... well, open-ended, so they have lots of ways to go with the next one (but they didn't leave it where things could be considered over).

Overall, I guess it wasn't too bad.  It certainly did not live up to the standards of the first three, although that's not an especially damning statement.  I'm left a bit curious to see where it goes next, but not feeling like I need to know.  I don't feel like we got ripped off, nor like it was a fantastic experience.  Hopefully that helps a bit, if you're thinking of going to see it.