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4K UHD Review: JASON BOURNE

Dec 04, 2016 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

In Jason Bourne, Matt Damon returns to the franchise reprising his role as the titular character. It has been nearly a decade since the events of the The Bourne Ultimatum, when former CIA assassin Jason Bourne learned the truth about Operation Treadstone and discovered that his life had been a lie. He exposed a similar government spy-training program, Operation Blackbriar, then faked his own death and went off the grid.

As this film opens, David Webb a.k.a. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), is still struggling with all of the horrible things the CIA made him do. He’s been hiding out in Greece, making money by participating in underground bare-knuckle fights. Meanwhile, former CIA operative Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who also left the agency shortly after the Blackbriar incident, has been on her own personal Snowden-like mission to expose the CIA’s illicit activities. While in Iceland hacking a CIA data lab, she uncovers files revealing information about Bourne’s past, and data that suggest his father was a lot more involved with Treadstone than he let on. Nicky also discovers that the CIA is about to launch a new program, Ironman, which could be even worse than Blackbriar and Treadstone projects. So she sets up a meeting with Bourne to hand off this information.

However, the CIA’s sharp technical analyst Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) is able to track down Parsons and Bourne, and CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) makes eliminating them his top priority. Dewey hires arranges for an asset (Vincent Cassel) with a grudge against Bourne to track them down an kill them before his latest program is exposed.

 
Jason Bourne is an exciting, heart-pounding, action-packed sequel that makes an excellent addition to the franchise. From bare-knuckle fist fights and anything-goes brawls, to a motorcycle chase through the busy streets of Athens and a high-speed car chase down the Vegas strip, this fifth installment is filled with some epic action sequences unlike anything seen before. The fight scenes feel so brutal and visceral, and never overly rehearsed; and the high speed chases are just insane!

The filmmakers make use of quick cuts and steady cam shots to provide fast-paced, exciting action. However, sometimes these camera moves are a little too fast, making it difficult to follow exactly what was going on. I think they could have slowed things down slightly and still maintained the same level of excitement without making the camera moves feel like a literal rollercoaster ride.

Matt Damon doesn’t miss a beat stepping back into his iconic role—you instantly forget it has been nearly 10 years since his last Bourne film. He’s in peak physical shape and delivers both on the drama and the action. I was also thrilled to see Julia Stiles back as Nicky Parsons, and to discover the new direction that character took as a result of the Blackbriar controversy. As for the new members of the cast, Tommy Lee Jones is always excellent in everything he does, and this is no exception—he is so believable as this corrupt, ruthless CIA director who will stop at nothing to protect his operation. I also really enjoyed Alicia Vikander as the tech-savvy woman who always appears to be a few steps ahead of Bourne (but is she?!), and Vincent Cassel delivers an amazing performance as this Terminator-like killer out for revenge against Bourne.

The overall picture quality of the 4K presentation was quite nice, but it was evident this was shot on film as some scenes have a large amount of grain. The picture is quite detailed, providing beautiful cityscapes, showing off the bright lights of the Vegas strip, and capturing every facial detail in the close-ups. The film makes use of a rich color palette to help emphasize certain scenes or characters—scenes following Jason Bourne make use of a lot of reds while the drama inside the CIA ops center is set to blue tones. The DTS:X soundtrack sounds amazing. When Bourne is in the middle of his fight club, or among the protesters on the streets, you feel like you are right there in the middle of it all, surrounded by the chants of the crowd. Throughout the film all of the audio channels are utilized to emphasize or add direction to the action while also providing clear dialogue and an exciting score.

The 4K UHD/Blu-ray release contains about 47 minutes of interesting behind-the-scenes featurettes including interviews with the cast and creators of the film. The release also includes a digital copy of the film, which redeems in 4K UHD via Ultraviolet. The two discs come packed in a standard 4K UHD keep case, along with a rounded-corner slipcover.

Note: Target is offering an exclusive Blu-ray release that includes a third disc with an additional 30+ minutes of bonus content. However I’m not sure what this additional material consists of, and they are not offering this exclusive in the 4K edition as well.



What’s Included:

Film: (2:03:09)

    4K Ultra HD:

    • 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
    • HDR
    • Audio: English DTS:X, English DTS Headphone:X, Spanish DTS-HD 7.1, French (Canadian) DTS Digital Surround Sound 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

    Blu-ray:

    • 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
    • Audio: English DTS:X, English DTS Headphone:X, English Descriptive Video Service, Spanish DTS-HD 7.1, French (Canadian) DTS Digital Surround Sound 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

    Digital HD (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

    • Digital copy redeemable via UltraViolet (Universal, Flixster or Vudu) OR iTunes
      (The UV code that comes with the 4K release redeems in UHD)

Extras:
All of the bonus material is contained on the Blu-ray Disc. Each bonus feature includes a short introduction by star Matt Damon. Target is offering an Exclusive Blu-ray release that includes a third disc with an additional 30+ minutes of bonus content, however, there is no 4K edition of that exclusive release.

  • Bringing Back Bourne (8:15)
    The cast and creators talk about finding the right time/circumstances to bring back this beloved character, what it was like returning to this world, reuniting the cast and crew, Matt’s physical training, and more. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-writer/director/producer Paul Greengrass, producers Frank Marshall & Gregory Goodman, executive producer/co-writer/editor Christopher Rouse, director of photography Barry Ackroyd, and stars Matt Damon (“Jason Bourne”/producer), Julia Stiles (“Nicky Parsons”), Alicia Vikander (“Heather Lee”) and Tommy Lee Jones (“CIA Director Robert Dewey”).
  • Bourne to Fight (18:13)
    A behind-the-scenes look at some of the films’s major fight sequences. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer/star Matt Damon, co-writer/director/producer Paul Greengrass, stunt coordinator Gary Powell, fight coordinator Roger Yuan, boxing trainer Matt Baiamonte, stunt performer Brian Nickels, and art director Mark Scruton. Play All or select from:

    • Bare-Knuckle Boxing (7:55)
      Takes a look at where Jason Bourne is at the beginning of the film, how Damon prepared for the two bare-knuckle fight sequences, and the choreography involved in bringing these scenes to life.
    • Close Quarters (4:27)
      A behind-the-scenes look at the brutal fight between Jason Bourne and hacker Christian Dassault (Vinzenz Kiefer), where anything and everything in a small office can and does become a weapon.
    • Underground Rumble (5:59)
      A behind-the-scenes look at the final showdown between Jason Bourne and The Asset (Vincent Cassel), and what it took to put together the franchise’s most brutal fight sequence yet.
  • The Athens Escape (5:37)
    A look at the challenges of shooting the high-speed chase sequence through cramped city streets of Athens. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with second unit director Simon Crane, stunt coordinator Gary Powell, co-writer/director/producer Paul Greengrass, picture vehicles supervisor Graham Kelly, and star Matt Damon.
  • Las Vegas Showdown (14:56)
    Go behind-the-scenes of the film’s climactic Las Vegas sequences. Includes interviews with producer/star Matt Damon, producers Gregory Goodman & Frank Marshall, co-writer/director/producer Paul Greengrass, executive producer/co-writer/editor Christopher Rouse, VP of Aria hotel operations Paul Berry, art director Caty Maxey, transport coordinator Denny Caira, camera operator Nino Pansini, and actors Ato Essandoh (“Craig Jeffers”), Riz Ahmed (“Aaron Kalloor”), Vincent Cassel and Alicia Vikander. Play All or select from:

    • Convention Chaos (6:36)
      The cast and crew talk about shooting on-location in Las Vegas and taking over the Aria hotel.
    • Shutting Down the Strip (8:24)
      A behind-the-scenes look at what it took to pull off biggest car chase in Bourne history—from practice sessions to filming on the Vegas strip.

     


    Final Thoughts:

    My Rating
    Film:
    Video:
    Audio:
    Extras:
    Highly Recommended

    Jason Bourne is the exciting fifth installment of the Bourne film franchise, and marks the triumphant return of Matt Damon to play the titular character. The film has an interesting premise, a tense story, and some excellent action sequences—though at times I found the camera movements to be a bit too fast and jerky. The 4K presentation looks and sounds great, and the discs contain some entertaining bonus material. Fans of the franchise won’t be disappointed with this latest installment!