Matt Damon changed lanes as an actor in a major way once he took on the role of ‘Jason Bourne’. The character became so popular that it spawned four films and a spinoff, fans even dubbing Damon as the American James Bond. The first three movies are based on the novels by Robert Ludlum, the fourth coming from Damon and director Paul Greengrass. The films, at least for now, are likely at a stopping point. Thankfully for fans, if they wish to continue living in the Bourne universe, there is currently a television show that is taking everything back to the beginning.
The primary focus of the television series is in showing how Treadstone initially started in the past, as well as showing the fallout of its failure in the present day.
Treadstone is now playing on Amazon Prime Video. ‘Treadstone’, as fans will remember, was the black ops program that Bourne was a part of. Treadstone ran for one season, and tells the origin stories of how it all came to be. The primary focus of the television series is in showing how Treadstone initially started in the past, as well as showing the fallout of its failure in the present day. In the past, CIA agent John Randolph is at the centre of the program’s birth. In the present, there are sleeper agents who begin to awaken so as to continue the bidding of those that created them. With multiple agents, multiple parallel storylines, and numerous other characters that help tell the story, Treadstone is a fun way for fans of the Bourne franchise to relive some of the action and espionage nostalgia from the original films.
Fans should know ahead of time, that there will be no appearance of Jason Bourne in this TV series. References are occasionally made to events that had to do with Bourne, but it’s important for readers to understand that this is a completely different story. As such, this show if compared to the Bourne franchise, will disappoint fans, so it’s best not to even consider placing them alongside one another. There are still positives to the show. The actions scenes are expertly choreographed, the cinematography is top of the line, and though the plot jumps around quite a bit, it’s a fairly completely told story. Do understand that because there are so many characters and different things happening at once, that it at times can be difficult to follow if full attentiveness is not granted to it. Even so, the complexity of the plot is more a strength than a weakness even though it is not customary of television writing.
Admittedly, Bourne fans will be split on whether or not this show should be watched. A lot of fans will just be happy to relive the experience again if even just an ounce of the energy is still there. Others will likely not take an interest as Damon has no involvement. Of the few that find themselves somewhere in between, it’s not a long series to get through so the only thing lost is time. For readers who haven’t seen the original movies, this could be a good place to start.
