Action-Adventure Month (2025): Bourne Again

For Action-Adventure Month (2025), I watched all the movies in the Jason Bourne universe. There are 5, only four of which star Matt Damon. I wasn’t sure how to approach this. Part of me thought about doing individual reviews just as I do for the other months. Then again, this is a collection of films and, oftentimes, I do a bulk summation.

I’m going to do a combination of both. There is also the bonus and special event section with some additional entries from the month. Before I do the breakdown, though, I have to note that I enjoyed all of these movies. I need to watch these movies more frequently. They are definitely on the list of movies to watch repeatedly.

Initial Trilogy

The screenwriter for all three movies is Tony Gilroy (the same Tony Gilroy who also developed the Andor Star Wars series). Fun fact: Only the first movie is loosely based on the book by Robert Ludlum; the other two are entirely from Gilroy’s head. If I had to pick a favorite among the three, it would be Ultimatum, but all three are fun.

The Bourne Legacy

Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Starring: Jeremy Renner Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton
My Rating:

As you can see from the starring cast, Matt Damon is not listed. This is the only film in the franchise in which he does not appear. Jason Bourne is mentioned a few times, but this film is more focused on another agent. The events of the previous three films trigger events that affect Jeremy Renner’s character.

At first, I didn’t think I had seen this movie, but as I continued watching it, parts became familiar. I completely forgot that Oscar Isaac (aka Poe Dameron) was in this film. Renner is great in this and, again, its a fun movie to watch.

Jason Bourne

Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander
My Rating:

This is the only movie in the series where Tony Gilroy is not involved. I wanted to give this movie 3 1/2 stars, but I’m limited on my icons. I considered four stars because the acting is great. Matt Damon is awesome, Tommy Lee Jones is legendary, and I really like Alicia Vikander’s character. However, this movie just feels like a rehash of the original trilogy whittled down to 123 minutes.

It’s still fun to watch, and I feel like they left it open for more, but I don’t see that happening. Although when Hollywood gets desperate, they seem to think making sequels is a good idea (and most of the time it isn’t).

Bonus and Special Event movies

July is the month in which we celebrate our nation’s independence; therefore, the movie Independence Day is always on the list for the 4th. There is a bonus movie, and it’s another movie we saw in the theater, but this one was a unique situation.

We have an AMC Stubs Premiere membership, and I believe that comes with special pre-screenings of movies called “Screen Unseen.” This allows members to screen a movie before its full theatrical release. It’s only $6 a person (I’m sure that varies by location), but you don’t know what you are seeing until the movie starts. The only things you know going in are the MPAA rating and the runtime.

We decided to check out a “screen unseen” in July, and we saw Sketch (by Angel Studios). It turned out to be kind of a pseudo-thriller, but for younger audiences. I posted a review of the film if you want to check it out. It’s a neat experience and we hope to do more in the future.

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