My 19-year-old son doesn’t go for trends and obsessions. So, when home from college on this Christmas break, he agrees to spend two hours with us around the second of his preferred triad of films, we seize the moment by its skinny little cinematic throat.
Two hours later … Wow!
Matt Damon’s ‘Jason Bourne’ won’t go away from the stained recall of compromised CIA operatives and Russian oil cartel-istas, won’t go away from an amnesiac operative’s self-identification-screen to let him get back to his original self, and now won’t go away from our home-movie enthusiasm.
Bring on the prequel, let us have the sequel! I see some quick Amazon orders of used DVDs in our (very near) future.
The plot will be well-known to readers of this review or, alternatively, available from myriad reviews. Let me point my minutes at softer targets:
(a) The pace: this movie you up from start to finish. There is not a moment to rest. Plot-challenged viewers like this reviewer will want to make careful mental note of the spare fingerprint and such.
(b) The music: John Powell’s soundtrack cooperates beautifully with the plot. If you normally experience film music merely at the subliminal level, this would be a good film on which to bring it up the level of consciousness. I plan to buy (and review) the soundtrack. ‘Very strong music.
(c) Acting: Damon is superb. But don’t miss Brian Cox as the tortured and slightly repugnant Ward Abbot, who just wants to enjoy his hard-earned influence for another year before retiring to a couple of consultancies. His life is oddly interrupted (and then, for that matter, ended) by the stubborn researches of Pamela Landy. Pay attention to this strong support role too, ably performed by the intensely attractive Joan Allen.
I need to end this review now, perhaps a bit prematurely. I need to go get two other movies!
Canter Bridge 
Leave a Reply