Jason Bourne

JASON BOURNE (Paul Greengrass, 2016)

In JASON BOURNE the title character (Matt Damon) is regaining his memory while staying off the CIA’s radar, but he still has questions about his nebulous past before becoming an operative for the agency. Former colleague Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) hacks into the CIA and obtain files key to helping Bourne understand who has used and deceived him for many years. Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), head of the CIA’s cyber unit, spots Parsons’ activity and manages to place malware on the downloaded files, although important information is still in the hands of a rogue agent.

Parsons arranges to meet Bourne in Athens while intelligence officials strategize how to nab or eliminate them. As the chase spreads to Berlin and then London, Lee appeals to CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) to let her oversee the operation to bring Bourne back in and reestablish him as the valuable asset he is. Meanwhile, Dewey faces another threat to the agency’s power and secrecy when Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed), the CEO of a social media corporation, threatens to come clean about the confidential funding that makes his company complicit with government surveillance of the population.

As the fifth film in the series, the fourth with Damon’s Bourne character, it comes as no surprise that JASON BOURNE is essentially another serving of what has been delivered in the past. Director and co-writer Paul Greengrass is at the helm for the third time of the frenetically-shot and crisply edited action series. Editor Christopher Rouse has a co-screenwriting credit. Without knowing Rouse’s specific contributions, it makes a lot of sense for him to be credited there, as JASON BOURNE is told largely through how it’s cut. Strip the film of its dialogue, and there’s probably little crucial information the audience would miss. In the global marketplace, this film represents close to the ideal: an action movie that translates regardless of language or subtitles.

There’s much to admire on a purely technical level about how the action is sculpted. Although events often unfold in chaotic situations with a bobbing camera and short shot lengths, Greengrass and Rouse keep the viewer oriented. For all of the activity within the frames and the speed with which they change, these sequences remain coherent rather than merging into one big blur of sound and sensation. The sheer volume of frenzied pursuits and combat threatens to engulf all else. After JASON BOURNE arrives in Las Vegas and builds to a furious climax, the unrelenting motion earns hard-won appreciation, but for the first half the busy nature and usual cover-up particulars make a bland return of the star actor to the franchise.

Damon may be back back in the role for the first time in nine years, but he’s treated as if a computer scan was made of him and then animated to suit the script’s needs. It’s no reflection on Damon as a performer; he’s just playing an impersonal part in a two-hour action whirlwind. If Bourne is being fashioned as an American James Bond, then the character needs to be given the space to have a personality or be somewhat less task-oriented. Otherwise he’s just an avatar in well-executed fight scenes.

Grade: C+

The Monuments Men

THE MONUMENTS MEN (George Clooney, 2014)

Dismayed at the immense amount of art the Germans are stealing during World War II and the historic sites being damaged in battles, Frank Stokes (George Clooney) gets approval to lead a platoon of art experts to minimize the cultural losses as much as possible.  The seven-man team in THE MONUMENTS MEN hunts for the missing treasures and gives advice to military commanders about significant buildings they hope will be unharmed in combat.  The motley crew of newly minted American soldiers includes New York museum curator James Granger (Matt Damon) and architect Richard Campbell (Bill Murray) as well as Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville), a Brit with a drinking problem, and Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin), a Frenchman whose sight and hearing deficiencies prevent him from being a fighter pilot.

Intending to protect and locate as much art as possible, the unit is spread across the European theater.  Jeffries, Campbell, and Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban) head to Belgium, with the Brit going to Bruges to secure Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child and the other two tasked with protecting the Ghent Altarpiece.  Granger goes to newly liberated France where he tries to pry information from Parisian museum worker Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett).  Although suspected of being a collaborator, she kept a detailed list of the art that passed through a sorting house while the Nazis employed her. Claire is hesitant to share her records because she thinks that, like the Russians, the Americans will keep the pieces rather than return them to their original owners.  Sculptor Walter Garfield (John Goodman) and Clermont are dispatched to Germany.  The already difficult job of the Monuments Men takes on greater urgency when Hitler orders the destruction of all looted artwork if he dies or Germany falls.

Based on a fascinating true story, THE MONUMENTS MEN strives for grandeur but amounts to something ordinary under Clooney’s execution as director and co-writer with Grant Heslov.  The effort to recover and preserve millions of cultural objects is earnestly recounted.  The nobility of the mission isn’t in question, but relentless reminders of what is at stake feels like a failure to give audiences credit for understanding it.  Although the Monuments Men suffer casualties, precious little about their assignments feels urgent.

Clooney keeps the tone relatively light, almost as if this operation is a fast one that the Allies pull on Hitler, yet he resists indulging the comedically broad or darkly humorous. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS or a wartime OCEAN’S ELEVEN this isn’t.  The human cost of the war rests heavily on the proceedings often enough not to be forgotten.  One of the film’s best scenes comes when a record from home is played over the camp radio.  The touching moment reminds of what is left behind during wartime and how objects have value beyond their components’ worth, yet the melancholy it brings is an awkward fit with the overall weightlessness of the characters’ experiences.  The impulse not to be too jokey is understandable, but Clooney never quite gets a handle on balancing the mission between a lark and life-or-death matter.   

With members of the team working in various part of the continent, THE MONUMENTS MEN often feels scattered.  The individual stories unspool like a jumble of decent anecdotes that add up to less than their sum.  None of the Monuments Men define themselves beyond being slight variations of one another.  The underutilization of this cast stands as the film’s biggest disappointment.  THE MONUMENTS MEN plays well enough as an old-fashioned call to live according to lofty ideals, yet the fulfilling of this pursuit is more humdrum than spirited.

Grade: C+

Promised Land

PROMISED LAND (Gus Van Sant, 2012)

Steve Butler (Matt Damon) knows firsthand how small towns can be ravaged in a down economy.  Born and raised in Iowa, he saw how the closure of a Caterpillar plant devastated the community.  Unlike many of those he grew up with, Steve got out and is enjoying success as a representative for a global natural gas company.  He travels to rural areas to persuade property owners to sell drilling rights on their land.  Steve isn’t ignorant of the risks involved with hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, but he is convinced that what he does improves the lives of the struggling folks he encounters.  Any charity Steve feels for them doesn’t interfere with his knack for securing contracts for the lowest price possible, though.    

In PROMISED LAND Steve and co-worker Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand) expect a short stay for their assignment to close deals in a small Pennsylvania town, but gaining local approval is complicated when science teacher Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook) raises objections during a town hall meeting and the citizens postpone a vote on the matter for three weeks.  Then Dustin Noble (John Krasinski), an environmental activist from Nebraska, rolls into Miller Falls warning everyone that fracking can lead to dead livestock, land that can no longer be farmed, and contaminated ground water.  His message quickly gains traction and raises the pressure on Steve and Sue to deliver.

The makers of PROMISED LAND clearly object to fracking but attempt, not always successfully, to explore the issue without stacking the deck in favor of its viewpoint. Steve counters critics with the contention that natural gas is a clean, domestically plentiful alternative to coal and oil. Even if one doesn’t fully buy his argument, rejecting natural gas means implicitly accepting dirty energy sources and relying on overseas suppliers.  Fracking will bring an influx of money to the area and may restore a place and population that is economically disadvantaged.  In the end the situation boils down to which risks are the ones worth taking.

Damon and Krasinski, who co-wrote the screenplay, and director Gus Van Sant approach PROMISED LAND like a Frank Capra film.  The American people and process are trusted to arrive at the right decision, even if opposing forces are working to manipulate them.  The townsfolk are credibly portrayed as being aware of what’s at stake, if not fully informed, and susceptible to the lure of easy, much-needed money. Steve and Dustin are on different sides but generally seem sincere in their efforts.

PROMISED LAND is at its best when showcasing the details of life in a self-contained agricultural community and the strategies and affectations Steve, Sue, and Dustin employ to influence the people there.  For all of his good intentions, Steve is something of a huckster.  Damon plays him with genuine charm and strong compartmentalizing abilities.  Krasinski displays his everyman appeal as his character effortlessly ingratiates himself with the locals.  The film’s middle section amuses with the maneuvering and passive-aggressive interactions between Steve and Dustin.

PROMISED LAND is well-acted and observed, although two flaws emerge.  Steve and Sue are more flustered by the presence of a single environmentalist than a couple of old pros should be.  PROMISED LAND tends to be savvy about risks and rewards, but one turn of events is unearned.  The development doesn’t ruin the film but wipes out the balance it was striving for.  

Grade: B

Green Zone

GREEN ZONE (Paul Greengrass, 2010)

Time and again Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) follows intelligence reports regarding the locations of Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2003 Baghdad, but much to his unit's frustration in GREEN ZONE, they find absolutely nothing. A source known as Magellan has supplied all of the information that predicated the United States' intervention in Iraq, yet the experiences of troops on the ground and doubts of a CIA operative suggest that the books have been cooked, so to speak.

In reteaming Damon and director Paul Greengrass, who made the last two Jason Bourne movies together, GREEN ZONE becomes a crypto BOURNE film that again finds a single man doggedly trying to uncover the truth and take down those who would hide it. Driving the narrative is the bad intelligence and futile search for WMDs that characterized the start of the ongoing Iraq War, so there's no doubt that GREEN ZONE cannot avoid the taint of dividing viewers according to political ideologies.

The film comes down squarely against a war that has proven costly in American and Iraqi lives, especially if it was conceived out of lies, so it's tailor-made for hot button editorials and seething viewers sympathetic to both sides of the Congressional aisle. Depending on your view, the film whips you into righteous anger or offended antagonism.

Stripped of its political urgency, GREEN ZONE is a dynamic action film akin to recent Best Picture winner THE HURT LOCKER. Greengrass utilizes the cinema verite style that has been his trademark since BLOODY SUNDAY. The wobbly camerawork and quick cutting tend to induce fatigue, especially during a climactic nighttime chase of an Iraqi general through war-torn streets, but the director brings an undeniable immediacy to the material that a more static aesthetic would struggle to maintain.

Occasionally Greg Kinnear relieves the film's unrelenting nature as an administration toady obstructing the hero's best efforts. The ending, which can be interpreted as a conventionally happy conclusion, has produced grumbles in some corners, but in retrospect, I wonder if it isn't one last gut punch regarding the irrelevance of facts. GREEN ZONE may be too intent on achieving its purpose to unwind for some necessary spells, but as a politically-charged action film, it accomplishes the mission.

Grade: B-

Invictus

INVICTUS (Clint Eastwood, 2009)

In INVICTUS a newly elected Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) turns to an unlikely group to help heal the racial divide in post-apartheid South Africa. After spending 27 years behind bars, Mandela is freed from Robben Island Prison in 1990 and continues working toward his goal of making the country a multi-racial democracy.

Four years later Mandela is the president of a nation still deeply split along racial lines. While black South Africans look forward to benefiting from having one of their own as the country's leader, the Afrikaners fear what they might face as a minority population under the rule of a black man.

At a rugby match Mandela observes that old tensions still thrive. Blacks in attendance cheer against South Africa's national team, the Springboks. To them, the Springboks represent the prejudice and oppression they were subjected to under apartheid.

With South Africa hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela sees a unique opportunity for blacks and whites to rally around the team and perhaps build national harmony. Springboks captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) is tasked with the duty of making the team an inspiration for all South Africans.

Sports can breed deep and ugly rivalries, but they also have a way of unifying people from uncommon backgrounds and interests, whether it's the players or those cheering them on. This is especially true in international competitions, even if the sports themselves may not be ones that viewers are concerned with except every four years.

In INVICTUS director Clint Eastwood does a sharp job of showing Mandela's political genius in utilizing a team that symbolized the old white establishment--and which had only one black player--to demonstrate how South Africa's present and future could unify former opponents.

It was a risky maneuver and not one encouraged by his advisers, but just as Mandela understood that he needed to integrate his personal security team behind a common purpose, he also knew that the nation needed something to strive for collectively.

Carrying over the wise, fatherly influence he brings to other roles, Freeman applies a firm but calming presence to his portrayal of Mandela. It's a persuasive performance that leads one to see how this man could overcome the enormous odds of bridging the gap in South Africa's racial relations.

While INVICTUS fits into the biographical and inspirational sports movie traditions, Eastwood resists sanctifying Mandela or giving in to unabashed emotionalism on the pitch. The director references Mandela's shortcomings as a man bearing a heavy weight and allows the actions to say more than speeches.

Although INVICTUS is not strictly a Mandela biopic, this particular accomplishment of his cuts to the essence of who the South African is and what he fought for. INVICTUS could do a better job of explaining the basic rules to rugby neophytes, especially with so much of the final act devoted to the big match, but that's a minor quibble when the gist of gameplay can be picked up by observing.

INVICTUS draws its title from the name of a William Ernest Henley poem that inspired Mandela during his incarceration. Likewise, the film serves as a reminder that no matter how dire the circumstances, truly remarkable change is possible.

Grade: B

(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Informant!

THE INFORMANT! (Steven Soderbergh, 2009)

In the fact-based comedy THE INFORMANT! Matt Damon stars as a corporate executive turned whistleblower in a major multi-national price-fixing case in the early 1990s. Damon is Mark Whitacre, an up-and-coming divisional president at agri-business giant Archer Daniels Midland.

Mark's first contact with the FBI comes when he tips off his superiors that a Japanese competitor claims to know of a mole at ADM and wants ten million dollars to reveal who it is. He worries that the bureau's tapping of his business phone line at home will reveal what else he's involved in, so Mark confesses that his employer has him conspiring with other corporations to set the global market on lysine.

Mark agrees to cooperate with the FBI and make tapes documenting the illegal business practices, but for all of his help, the confident and bumbling informant complicates the case far beyond anyone's expectations.

Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns could have adapted Kurt Eichenwald's book as a thriller. Instead THE INFORMANT! treats the true story as a comedy set to a jaunty Marvin Hamlisch score. The music and light tone serve as counterpoint to the serious business of corporate criminality and the drudgery of collecting and understanding the complex evidence needed for prosecution.

Soderbergh and Burns deftly present the puzzling information in a clear and highly entertaining manner, but for all of their hard, workmanlike efforts, the film is Damon's through and through. At first Damon's hilarious performance appears to be little more than playing the clueless schlub who narrates his exploits with an internal, analytical yammering, which is funny enough in its own right. Damon's layered work gradually transforms this unlikely hero into the type of person Whitacre's FBI handlers couldn't have anticipated encountering.

Whitacre was the highest ranking executive informant who ever cooperated with the bureau. The story about why he chose to help is fascinating, perplexing, and, in a certain light, outrageously funny.

Grade: A-

(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)