JASON BOURNE: ReTreadstone

Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Paul Greengrass, Christopher Rouse
Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh
Runtime: 123 mins.
2016

You were the best of friends with this guy. Over the course of the half-decade-plus when you were in direct contact with him, he always proved a reliable companion, and your bond only grew stronger as you shared new experiences over the years. Eventually you had to part ways. You both knew that no matter how much you intended to keep in touch with each other, life was dragging both of you down separate paths--and that was for the best! You revisited his memory every so often, remembered the good times, but that's it. You've met people like him since, but without the exact balance of charisma and savvy that made him special. You've moved on.

But lo and behold, you'll be in the same area as each other this summer, so of course you plan a visit. You know it won't be like it was, but at the very least you expect to fall into some old nostalgic patterns that would not be sustainable long term, but are gratifying, pleasant, and perhaps even healthy in the moment. Although you have other things more prominent on your mind, you look forward to this meeting. Then you see him, and he's kind of... a shell of his former self. In the intervening years, life has run your old friend ragged. His signature personality quirks are muted to the point of banality, and all of his mediocre traits have spread and taken over. The worst thing that could have happened to this kind of friend has happened. He has become dull.

Such is the experience of watching Jason Bourne, most recent in Hollywood's current Sisyphean trend of perpetual reboots. Having earned the ill will of fans with their 2012 Jeremy Renner-helmed sequel The Bourne Legacy, Universal has desperately scrambled to get the band back together. In this case the band consists of Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, Paul Greengrass directing, John Powell* scoring, and Christopher Rouse editing (plus picking up a screenwriting credit this time), among others. One must be dubious of naked cash grab reboots, but that's a lot of talent. Besides, a movie like this can survive a less than great reboot so long as it delivers on the basic promises of the series in a somewhat satisfying way.

*As best I can tell, Powell is the only individual who contributes really good work to this film.

THE MARTIAN: Look at Those Cavemen Go

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Drew Goddard
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Benedict Wong, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover
Runtime: 144 mins.
2015

The Martian doesn't have the imagination of Insterstellar. It doesn't have the visceral pleasures of Gravity. It doesn't have the depth of philosophy or breadth of scope that 2001: A Space Odyssey boasts. But it does have one thing: Sam Rockwell.

No wait, I'm thinking of Moon.

To figure out what The Martian has, I've found myself thinking a lot about what it doesn't. The movie follows the plight of Mark Watney (Matt Damon), an astronaut who is stranded and presumed dead on a routine mission to Mars. He must find a way to survive in increasingly unlikely circumstances, while also figuring out how to get NASA to send a rescue mission. On the other end of those 54.6 million kilometers, every facet of NASA is busily working on the logistics, ethics, and publicity angles of such a rescue mission. But mostly the logistics, because everyone in this movie is basically a good person.

ELYSIUM: The Dangers of Assumed Empathy

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
Runtime: 109 mins.
2013

I remember enjoying District 9.  It felt fresh, character-driven, and deep despite the straightforwardness of its political allegory.  Neill Blomkamp was going to be one to watch, especially with a blockbuster budget and Hollywood grade-A talent at his disposal.

What happened?

Elysium had a mountain of hype behind it, but its reception was lukewarm.  Many people seemed to like it, and they defended it against the critiques of the malcontents.  Full disclosure, I am one of the malcontents.  Being disillusioned with the film, I've been thinking about why the film was generally well-received.  Maybe it was the excellent special effects, or the cinematography (although I felt the pacing didn't allow me to take in any single moment).  Maybe it was the detailed sci-fi worldbuilding (although I wish they would have explored that world more).  Maybe it was that a big budget summer genre blockbuster had a discernible high-minded theme underpinning it (although I found that theme's presentation simple and borderline condescending).

These are all almost-merits.  But I won't get into the aesthetics of the movie very much.  I want to talk about how I found Elysium unsatisfactory on a basic narrative/dramatic level, and I want to do that by looking at each of the nine primary characters and their impact on the story.