Jason Bourne

Quick refresher: Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a rogue CIA agent who suffered from amnesia while exposing numerous covert conspiracies. Now he says that he remembers everything: his real name is David Webb, and he is guilt-ridden over what he did as the government's pre-programmed killing machine. After years of anonymity, brawny Bourne is once again lured into the open, determined to “learn the truth” about his deceased dad (Gregg Henry). Bourne is tipped off by his ex-CIA contact, tech whiz Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who filched future black-ops plans, infuriating new director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), who suspects that Nicky's public exposure of top secrets “could be worse than Snowden.” Ambitious CIA analyst Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) is slyly confident that she can bring Bourne in, while Dewey's hired assassin (Vincent Cassel), known as “the asset,” wants him dead—for personal as well as professional reasons. Adding to the intrigue is Silicon Valley tycoon Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed), who duplicitously assures his 1.5 billion users that his Deep Dream social media platform will not tolerate government surveillance, noting, “You don't need to tell me we live in scary times. I'm Muslim.” Inspired by Robert Ludlum's popular novel series, director Paul Greengrass's Jason Bourne sacrifices emotionally engaging character development in favor of visceral action in the form of frenzied set-pieces filled with convoluted foot-and car-chases. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Bourne to Fight” (18 min.), “Las Vegas Showdown” (15 min.), “Bringing Back Bourne” (8 min.), “The Athens Escape” (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a somewhat disappointing franchise entry.] (S. Granger)