The assassin kills several innocent people when they get in his way. Two people fall from a building, one dying in the process. People sometimes lie in the street, blood pooled around their heads. And while those shootings aren’t particularly gory, they’re almost all lethal. The Asset shoots several other people during the course of the film. The man complies-shooting the tortured man in the head (offscreen). The Asset receives a call from the CIA telling him to close out his “account” and go to Greece. When we first meet that unnamed operative, he’s holed up in an apartment in Rome, watching a soccer game while a bloodied, whimpering man sits, tied and gagged, in a bathtub. Jason is pursued throughout the film by an assassin known only as “The Asset,” who treats others’ lives as callously as most of us do used soda cans. Jason Bourne has some strong opinions on the matter, but it at least gives viewers a framework for some healthy discussion afterward.Ī hallmark of the Bourne movies has been frenetic, shaky-camera action sequences, and Jason Bourne doesn’t deviate. The film, in its own way, also addresses one of the most critical, compelling issues of modern life: The balance our government struggles to strike between personal freedom and national security. And while that doesn’t always manifest itself in the best of ways (as we shall see), there’s no question that Jason did love his pops. Here, Jason’s love for his dearly departed father is part and parcel of his crusade against the latest CIA overreach. “I’m not on your side,” he says.īut there’s another element in play in Jason Bourne. When one hacker begs Jason to leave incriminating files with him, saying that “people have a right to know,” Jason balks, perhaps knowing that exposing such secrets could harm real people and the country he loves. His idealism has been noted: Even some of his adversaries call him a “true patriot,” hoping to get him to return to the fold.īut while he tries to uncover some of the government’s most closely guarded secrets, he’s no Edward Snowden. Jason wants to protect what America stands for-truth, justice, etc.-even if the CIA has lost its way. But within that premise, there’s no question who’s fighting the good fight. It’s a pretty cynical premise, of course. The twist: In the Bourne franchise, that nefarious organization just happens to be the U.S. Jason Bourne is a lot like James Bond: Both are charismatic, highly skilled agents fighting nefarious organizations that threaten the safety of the world.
Only Jason Bourne can stop it, and he’ll need a whole new movie to do so. If only the CIA had named the file, say, “Fluffy Cuddles,” or “Mom’s Favorite Gluten-Free Recipes,” Nicky might’ve passed on it and left Jason to keep beating up people in Obskuristan.Īs it is, she knows that the CIA is up to no good. Third, the CIA-having not, apparently, learned that Jason Bourne totally ruins all their super-secret operations-has yet another nefarious plan in the works, something code-named Iron Hand.Ĭlearly, whoever’s in charge of naming CIA files is looking for a career change themselves-perhaps transferring over to SPECTRE. Second, Jason was actually under surveillance by the same organization for months before he ever actually volunteered … which makes Jason wonder whether his choice to join was so much of a choice at all. There she discovered a handful of secrets so shocking that she just had to tell her absentee assassin BFF all about them.įirst, Jason’s dad was actually involved in Treadstone, the very same super-secret initiative that Jason eventually volunteered for. But old habits die hard, and she recently hacked into the intelligence agency’s online closet-the one where it keeps all its scariest skeletons. Seems the former CIA agent has been off the grid for some time herself. During one particular bout, he sees the familiar face of his one-time helpmate Nicky Parsons. Not, at least, to a few trusted associates from his past. Hey, at least he’s using his well-honed governmental hand-to-hand training for something, right?īut while Jason may be in hiding, he’s not completely invisible. You know, stuff like engaging in shady pay-per-punch brawls in the lawless lands of Eurasia.įor nearly a decade, Jason’s been off the grid, bloodying his knuckles for his daily bread. No, former assassins’ next-career options are pretty limited. References? Anyone who can vouch for the quality of your work as an assassin is either, by definition, dead or literally wants to kill you. Think of even the most bare-bones application form for the local fast food joint: Name? Which one? Social Security Number? Yeah, next question. But discredited government assassins have it harder than most. It’s difficult for anybody to switch careers.