Movie · 2016 · Action, Adventure, Thriller · 2h 3m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.9/10 (421.6K ratings)
You know his name.
Overview
The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.96/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 55%
Metacritic: 58
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Paul Greengrass
Production
The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Captivate Entertainment, Pearl Street Films, Perfect World Pictures
Cast
Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh, Scott Shepherd, Bill Camp, Vinzenz Kiefer, Stephen Kunken, Ben Stylianou, Kaya Yuzuki, Matthew O'Neill, Lizzie Phillips, Paris Stangl, Matt Blair, Amy De Bhrún, Akie Kotabe, Robin Crouch
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A serviceable but underpowered return to the Bourne formula: the action still lands in bursts, but the story feels recycled, the pacing is sluggish, and the film leans too hard on familiar beats without adding much new. Best approached as a competent spy-thriller with a few strong chase sequences rather than a must-see sequel.
Best for
viewers who want practical car chases and grounded espionage
fans of the Bourne style who can tolerate repetition
people in the mood for a slick but disposable thriller
Skip if
you want the sharpest or most essential Bourne entry
shaky-cam action bothers you
you need a tightly plotted spy story with real surprises
Overview
Jason Bourne is the kind of sequel that arrives with the right ingredients and still feels oddly flat. Matt Damon slips back into the role easily, and Paul Greengrass can still stage a chase with real physical urgency, but the movie keeps circling the same identity-crisis material instead of deepening it.
Worth noting
What works best is the tactile action: cars, crowds, and hard impacts that feel grounded rather than synthetic. Those moments briefly remind you why this franchise mattered in the first place, even if the surrounding story is mostly a reheated mix of surveillance paranoia, old secrets, and perfunctory twists.
Bottom line
The result is watchable, but only intermittently exciting. It plays like a competent franchise maintenance job rather than a true comeback, which makes the action feel less like a payoff and more like a reminder of better Bourne movies that came before it.
Top Letterboxd reviews
davidehrlich (1.5★) · 1147 likes
review of JASON BOURNE, as written in the film’s shaky-cam style:
it’s[phone rings!] [car crash!] VERY[“the asset!”] […???]verrry ["this IS my happy face!] very bad
Matt Singer (2★) · 493 likes
That was an awful lot of nothing to sit through for one awesome car chase.
David Sims (2★) · 421 likes
dull and dutiful viewing as I clear through every single unwatched disc I own. stared at the screen looking as bored as Alicia Vikander does on her many desktops
SilentDawn (2.5★) · 308 likes
48/100
Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are back with a new Bourne movie, and this time, they brought Topical issues!
Although the action is looser and more defined, resulting in a less visceral feel (a core component of Greengrass's other two outings), and the story is fabricated out of thin 'Greatest Bourne Hits' slices, Jason Bourne is mostly fine, supporting solid performances which sell some of the drama when it isn't relegated to a computer monitor. The first act riot… more
1998 · Action, Drama, Thriller · 2h 12m · R · Curator 4.8/10 (392.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A paranoid surveillance thriller with similar government-overreach energy and chase-driven suspense.