Jason Bourne 2016

      This film series is based on novels written by Robert Ludlum.  It has been 10 years since Jason Bourne walked away from the CIA.  Nicky Parsons sent Bourne into hiding in The Bourne Ultimatum film.  She gains access to sensitive CIA files about a CIA Operation.  She contacts Bourne to share information about his past, including how he was recruited for the program and his father's role in that operation.  Bourne learns that his father, Richard Webb, designed this program, he was assassinated by the CIA because he did not want his son to enter this program and become a highly trained killer.  

     CIA director Robert Dewey hunts down Parsons and Bourne using a foreign asset.  He is also using the technical skills of CIA Cyber Operations Division head Heather Lee.  Bourne has formulated plans to avenge his father's death.  Bourne first tries to make the man who recruited him into the CIA confirm his understanding of his father's death.  Then he then plans to avenge himself against Dewey.  Meanwhile, Heather Lee wants to bring Bourne back into the CIA's special operations.  Dewey allows Lee to believe she has his support even though he plans to eliminate Bourne. 

     There is also a subplot involving Operation Iron Hand, a surveillance program that will have secret access to a giant social media service called Deep Dream.  In the past the CIA and Deep Dream have had a contract to work together but Aaron, its founder and CEO, wants to end this cooperation.  When Dewey refuses to allow any such change, Aaron plans to reveal his relationship with the CIA and its plans to violate the privacy expectations of Deep Dream's millions of users.  Dewey plans to assassinate Aaron before his planned revelations.

   Following the usual techniques of the Bourne films there is a LOT of action in this film.  There are many fight scenes in his style of Filipino martial arts.  Also many crash scenes filmed on parts of Los Vegas Boulevard but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!  The street was shut down on a Wednesday night from 7pm to 7AM.  Stunt drivers, coordinators, photographers, extras, directors and other crew members were there to film the action.  A dark colored car is seen swerving at a high speed between other vehicles on the Strip.  Metro cruisers and a large SWAT vehicle trail the speeding car.  Jason Bourne is driving a police Dodge Charger.  More than 170 cars were wrecked for this scene!!  5 1/2* (I really liked this film)

123 min, Action, directed and written by Paul Greengrass, also written by Christopher Rouse and Robert Ludlum with Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh Scott Shepherd, Bill Camp, Vinjzenze Kiefer, Stephen Kunken, Ben Stylianou, Kaya Yuzuki, Matthew O’Neill, Lizzie Phillips.

Note:  Imdb 6.6* out of 10* with 206,255 reviews,  Roger Ebert 3* Brian Tallerico, Rotten Tomatoes 54% with 322 critics 55% with 56,884 user ratings, RollingStone 3 1/2* Peter Travers, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Mark Kermode, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 7391 reviews.

Special Note:  There are five installments in this franchise.  1) The Bourne Identity 2002, 2) The Bourne Supremacy 2004, 3) The Bourne Ultimatum 2007, 4) TheBourne Legacy 2012, 5) Jason Bourne 2016, 6) Future.