Jason Bourne

The two Bs: Bourne and Bond. The most successful screen spies of all time, and important influences on one another. The gritty realism of the Bourne films arguably shaped Daniel Craig’s run as 007, and Matt Damon has returned to the franchise, again teaming up with Paul Greengrass who directed the first three Bourne films, the first of which appeared in cinemas way back in 2002. After a brief hiatus which saw Jeremey Renner take over the reins in the spin-off The Bourne Legacy, Matt Damon charges back into the action and makes for an exhilarating, if not entirely meaningful, blockbuster…

In the manner of an extended episode of Who Do Think You Are (just with fewer historians and more explosions), it has taken Jason Bourne quite a while to discover his true identity. Jason Bourne sees the agent everyone wants to kill living a quiet, if not relaxing, existence on the Greek-Albanian border and passing the time by bare-knuckle fighting the local tough men. But when Nicky Parsons (a return to the role by Julia Stiles) manages to hack into the CIA’s database and steal files about a new, highly-classified agent recruitment programme, she gives Bourne the chance to find out more about his past and uncover the truth behind his father’s death. 

Predictably, the CIA are not too happy about this, and cyber division chief Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) is tasked by the CIA Director (played in gravelly tones by Tommy Lee Jones) to stop the hack and neutralise Parsons and Bourne. Things don’t go to plan, of course, and Bourne escapes, even with the CIA’s best assassin on his heels (a suitably persistent Vincent Cassel). From the outset, it’s clear that the action is going to be viscerally sharp, with a particularly well-filmed sequence seeing protestors attacking riot police on the streets of Athens. 

Jason Bourne – and the action – zips around Europe as if on a Contiki tour, and some brilliant set pieces in Berlin and London culminate in a jaw-dropping (but ridiculous) car chase through the streets of Las Vegas. Greengrass and director of photography Barry Ackroyd certainly know how to move a camera, jumping around and through the action with an intense, but precise sense of tension. Forty-five-year-old Matt Damon is on top form as ever, getting stuck in to neutralising his enemies and, in a heart-stopping moment, throwing himself off a building. Although Damon’s performance is refined and compelling, he has little dialogue in the film, quite the opposite from the wise-cracking botanist he played in The Martian. 

There’s a clear attempt to bring the Bourne franchise right up-to-date (Damon’s most recent outing in the role was nearly ten years ago!), and the narrative incorporates a sub-plot featuring Riz Ahmed as a Mark Zuckerberg-esque Silicon Valley techie about to launch a new, consumer data-driven enterprise. It becomes clear that he’s had some murky dealings with the CIA and is dangerously implicated in the hunt for Bourne. The CIA, usually the good guys controlling things from high-tech control centres, are now the morally-questionable aggressors in the game of hero Bourne vs. the State – the series’ hallmark. 

It’s an interesting discussion of the era of big data, big government and the rise of social media, but it never really gels with the overall plot which, as a whole, barely advances Bourne’s story any further than we got in Ultimatum. The thing which made the previous Damon Bourne films such a success was the strong scaffolding of the plot which supported the action. In Bourne 5, however, this narrative structure is a little more flimsy. 

Tommy Lee Jones puts in a great performance as the determined CIA Director, intent on bringing Bourne down, whatever the cost. His chiselled face and gruff manner plays in perfect counterpoint to Alicia Vikander, who is fast becoming one of the most exciting actresses in Hollywood. With her own agenda for bringing Bourne in, and an unfaltering belief in herself, Vikander’s character is an engaging and important development in the male-dominated world of the Bourne films. 

Matt Damon has really grown into the role which assured his A-list status, and audiences will be really pleased to see him return in Jason Bourne. The film is characterised by some superb performances (especially from Vikander) and some bold, trademark Bourne action. The pace is relentless, and the end result largely satisfying. Will there be a Bourne 6? That’s a certainty. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *

Ghostbusters

This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

The news that the cult 1984 supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters was set for an all-female reboot was greeted by a tsunami of positive tweets, as well as a tornado of negative ones, coupled with quite a bit of general internet nastiness. Misogynistic voices piped up (not that they need much encouragement) and demanded to know why the much-loved original was going to be remade, and why a bunch of women were going to be the ones we’d have to call when there’s something strange in the neighbourhood. 

Misogynists aside, Ghostbusters – the 2016 version – reunites the irrepressible Melissa McCarthy with Paul Feig, director and writer, who always seems to be able to get the very best (and funniest) performance from McCarthy. Under any other leadership, perhaps the (non-women-hating) fans of the original may have felt a little let down, as fans often are with reboots. With Feig at the helm they needn’t worry.

The ghost-eradicating team of the original film is replaced with a female line-up of the highest comedic order. Kristen Wiig plays the super-serious scientist Erin Gilbert, whose academic career is thrown into jeopardy when a book she co-wrote with Abby Yates (McCarthy) about supernatural forces emerges on the internet. Erin tracks down Abby who is studying the paranormal full-time, alongside her zany research partner Jillian Holtzmann (played brilliantly by Kate McKinnon) and is roped in to investigating reports of ghostly activity. The trio are joined by Leslie Jones, playing Patty Tolan, a New York transport worker who encounters a ghost on the subway tracks and is determined to join the, now official, Ghostbusters. 

From the very outset, the jokes are fast-paced and the action frenetic. Indeed, the humour is consistently funny and never feels dislocated from the characters. When the Ghostbusters establish their permanent office (above a Chinese takeaway) they employ a receptionist in the form of Chris Hemsworth. The trouble is, he’s a bit dim, has trouble understanding the principle of a telephone, and wears Clark Kent-style glasses without lenses to save him having to clean them. His good looks, and their disarming effects on Kristen Wiig’s character, are the source of much amusement (especially in great scene when he’s being interviewed for the job and talks of his dog called Mike Hat), and Wiig remains the likeable screen presence she established in Bridesmaids. 

Melissa McCarthy’s talent for physical comedy and gag delivery is as superb as ever, but the real stand-out has to be Kate McKinnon as the madcap inventor of the Ghostbusters’ proton-emitting, ion-firing, neutrona-wielding weaponry used to catch the ghosts. The quirks in her performance are laugh-out-loud funny and really enjoyable to watch, working in perfect harmony with the other three main characters. 

There is much for fans to spot in the film, from nice cameos (Bill Murray makes an appearance as a myth-debunking authority on the paranormal) to homages and nice references to the original movie. But what makes Ghostbusters so effective, is that it never feels like a re-hash of established material or, indeed, a re-working of old gags or characters. Rather, it is simply a very funny, autonomous, and good-natured film with a great cast. The script zips along to a final confrontation with the ghosts (who are unleashed by the film’s villain, a loner hotel worker played by Neil Casey), all the while simultaneously paying tribute to, and enhancing, the world of the Ghostbusters. 

As a blockbuster, Ghostbusters is a very enjoyable, very funny, and very competent spectacle. The script fizzes with jokes which are genuinely funny, the action is engaging, and the acting from the film’s protagonists a triumph. The casting of an all-female team becomes an element in the development of the film’s tone, but never comes to define it. In an early scene when the Ghostbusters upload a video to YouTube of a ghost-sighting, they trawl through the comments underneath for support. “Ain’t no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts”, reads one. A very pointed reference. A very successful two-fingers to the haters. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *

Independence Day: Resurgence

 This review was first published by The Student Pocket Guide

Anyone who has visited New Zealand (or, indeed, watched Lord of the Rings) will know how stunning its scenery is. It is a country where every bend in the road promises a new vista of spectacular lakes, wide-open valleys or impressively-big mountains. The beauty is on an immense scale. But, spend more than a few days there, and the striking nature of the country starts to lose its original power and wondrous appeal. Towering mountains become “just another” set of imposing natural wonders, and breath-taking scenery blends together into a big, overwhelming landscape. You know it’s enormous, and you know it’s amazing. But it’s on such an unimaginable scale that it loses its impact. In other words, you become desensitised to the spectacle. This was exactly how I felt watching Independence Day: Resurgence. 

It has been 20 years (yes, 20!) since the original Independence Day was released and enjoyed something of a cult following. It turns out, however, that that apocalyptic battle between man and alien was just the beginning, and this time, the aliens are back and bigger than ever. It would appear that Roland Emmerich has something against planet Earth, as he not only directed the first film, but also helmed the equally-destructive disaster films The Day After Tomorrow and the ridiculous 2012.

In Independence Day: Resurgence, he out-does himself in terms of humongous aliens and proves that size really isn’t everything. In a script which is heavy on action, and attempts some jokes (most of which fall flat), the ambition is to be admired. Even though the stakes couldn’t be higher, paradoxically, the threats never seem to matter.

Familiar faces return for this battle, as well as some new characters with a link to the destruction in the original. Jeff Goldblum – easily the best thing about this film – returns as David Levinson, who is now the Director of the Earth Space Defense (ESD) organisation which is tasked with protecting the planet from another alien invasion. When a mysterious alien ship appears near the Moon, the ESD takes immediate action to shoot it down, much to Levinson’s dismay as he believes that it may be a different species from the hostile aliens which previously attacked the Earth. Sure enough, it turns out that the real threat is yet to appear, and although Earth is now equipped with alien weapon technology, it falls to Levinson and ace fighter pilot Jake Morrison (played by Liam Hemsworth) to fight the invaders. 

Hemsworth’s easy screen charm does a little to flesh out the characterisation in the film, but the consequences of the massive destruction never seem to amount to much. The alien space ship, complete with Queen alien inside, crashes into Earth, scrapping the surface and literally covers a quarter of the world. Yep, it’s big. 

As well as Goldblum making a return for the sequel, Bill Pullman reprises his role as retired President Thomas J. Whitmore who, rather bizarrely, jumps into a fighter jet in an attempt to destroy the alien mothership. Judd Hirsch returns as Levinson’s father, and Brent Spiner puts in another full-on performance as Dr Brakish Okun, who awakens from a 20-year coma. Will Smith is the notable absentee, instead his son (played by Jessie T. Usher) carries on his alien-battling work.

The plot plays out as you’d expect it too, and although the visuals are impressive, the whole thing is too big, too unrefined and too outrageous to sustain a credible narrative or any engaging characters. For a film with laudable themes – people setting aside differences and uniting to work together for the common good – the humanity gets lost amongst the immense destruction. 

 

Blockbusters such as this are meant to be spectacular, and this one certainly packs a visual punch (especially in the film’s dénouement when a bright yellow school bus, driven by Goldblum, screeches across a deathly-white salt flat). The aliens, too are well designed. But, at the end of it all, the chaotic action, its outlandish scale and destruction, numbs the audience and it ultimately all seems rather inconsequential.

Clapperboard Rating: * * *