Jason Bourne (2016)

Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers:. Paul Greengrass, Christopher Rouse
Cinematographer: Barry Ackroyd
Cast:.       Matt Damon, Tommy Lee-Jones, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles

As is the case with other Bourne films, Bourne is on the run from CIA hit squads as he tries to uncover things from his past. One would think there isn't much to discover after the end of Ultimatum, the third film in the trilogy which tied the trilogy together nicely like Dude's rug, but they just add one more mystery for him to solve regarding how he ended up as a CIA agent.

The film begins with Julia Stiles in an 'Anonymous' kind of hacking setup hacking the CIA files to obtain the files relating to their black-ops programmes including treadstone. Bourne was living kind of an exiled life but is lured back in when his interest gets piqued by what Stiles hands over to him. On the opposite side there is Tommy Lee-Joness, playing the typical CIA villain from all other Bourne films, and Alicia Vikander who heads the cyber division. Vincent Cassel plays the asset who is hunting Bourne on orders from the villain. If you haven't still figured it out, you can watch the recent honest trailer on Bourne trilogy which points out that all these films have basically the same plot and setup as a backbone to show off its action setpieces.

The latest film which comes almost a decade after Ultimatum, touches upon things that have changed since then like increased privacy concerns related to social media, hacking threats, wikileaks etc. It also plays on the refrain that the likes of Facebook were funded by CIA as a surveillance tool.

Performances are great and the action setpieces are top notch. It is certainly the weakest among the Matt Damon as Bourne films but still a very good watch. Some have complained about Alicia Vikander's role being very light weight but I thought it was an interesting take on an ambiguous ambiguous character when contrasted with the usual way such female characters are portrayed. Bourne says less than 100 words during the whole film. I do feel that there will be another Bourne film on its way which might resolve the unresolved threads from this film. That might also change the mixed opinion that the film has generated.

PS: The social media honcho is named Arun Kaloor and I wonder whether he is supposed to be a Malayalee.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Bourne Trilogy (2002-07)

Directors: Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass
Writers:    Tony Gilroy, William Blake Heron, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi
Cast:         Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Clive Owen, Karl Urban, Edgar Ramirez, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine

Loose adaptation of Robert Ludlum's action.thriller spy series based on the character Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin suffering from extreme memory loss.

I decided to watch them again after having acquired 720p files of all the three films. I think this was my fourth or fifth time watch of what is essentially the best action films franchise. The impact of it was such that the James Bond films with Daniel Craig were also forced to make a turn to have more realistic action sequences and solid stories instead of lame gadgets and CGIs. Still none of the three Craig films-Casino Royale, QoS or Skyfall comes anywhere close to the level of any of the Bourne films (I don't consider Legacy as a Bourne film). Even the product placements are miles better in the Bourne films whereas in Casino Royale it stood out like a sore thumb (Reminded me of malayalam films 'Nerariyan CBI). 

Enough with the comparison to Bond films. The first film 'The Bourne Identity' was directed by Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) who many considered as an odd choice. It is the most story/character driven out of the three and the Franka Potente character gives some emotion to the film when all other characters in the films are coldhearted. The three set-pieces come at equal intervals with the car chase using the 'MINI' through the streets of Paris set to Paul Oakenfold's 'Ready Steady Go' being the highlight. 

In the second film 'The Bourne Supremacy', Bourne is motivated by revenge and guilt as he comes back to Europe after his girlfriend is killed in India. It is directed by Paul Greengrass with his trademark shaky camera technique which suits very well for this kind of action films. That said some where put off by it. In terms of balance between the action sequences and the story this film is the best out of the three and probably my favorite as well. It was also good to hear some Malayalam in the background during the Goa bridge scene.

In the third film 'The Bourne Identiy', again directed by Greengrass, the motivation of Bourne is kind of flimsy and it acts merely as a tool to get him to do the action set-pieces. It is the most action oriented out of the three and the best logical point for the creators to end the franchise with Bourne having retraced his steps back to the training place. In between Supremacy and Ultimatum Greengrass managed to direct United 93 as well.

It was lovely to see the nods to L'avventura (Italian Boat's name in Identity) and Berlin-Alexanderpatz (Tram in Suporemacy). The closing credits are done very well with Moby's Extreme Ways. In all three I was left with the same grin that Stiles had in Ultimatum.

Trivia: Bourne never smiles in Supremacy and Ultimatum.

Rating: Trilogy: 5/5
The Bourne Identity:5/5
The Bourne Supremacy:5/5
The Bourne Ultimatum:4/5  

Captain Phillips (2013)

Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers:  Billy Ray, Richard Phillips
Cast:       Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman 

The real life story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali Pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. 

Like you would expect from a Greengrass film, it gives both the captains (ship captain and the pirates captain) almost equal importance. He is really one of the few directors who can make action films that don't dump down the story. What elevates the film from good to great is the performance by Tom Hanks in the last 10 minutes where he depicts a man who is shell shocked. There are no brave speeches and the rescue scene is done in a cold calculated way. It is not his best film but still a great one from a very dependable director.

Rating: 4/5

United 93 (2006)

Director: Paul Greengrass
Writer:    Paul Greengrass
Cast:       David Alan Basche, Khalid Abdalla, Chrisitian Clemenson 

Real time account of what could have happened on United Flight 93, the only one which failed to reach the target among the 9-11 hijacked planes and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Many of the air traffic control ground-staff are played by real people and the documentary style in which the film is made is perfect. No well known actors play any of the roles which makes it all the more real with no silly back stories given to any of the characters. The passengers behave as they should and they don't even know each others name as they try to get control of the plane. No patriotic bullshit is given as they are shown to act purely on survival instincts. The terrorists are also portrayed very well and the emotional state they are going through is shown without demonizing them. A gripping watch even if you know how it is gonna end.

Rating: 5/5