Tommy Lee Jones is the rare Oscar winner who’s able to sustain his mainstream credibility while funneling the cash from his studio gigs into smaller, more personal projects. Despite being prominently featured in dubious projects like MAN OF THE HOUSE, THE FAMILY, and the upcoming MECHANIC 2, he’s quietly directed three mighty strong features over the past decade, most recently the unfortunately overlooked Hilary Swank starrer THE HOMESMAN.
So when I hear that he’s going to co-star in the next BOURNE movie, it doesn’t feel as much like slumming as it does conscientious planning and well-planned strategy.
Jones will be playing the latest in a long line of BOURNE C.I.A. heavies, following Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, and Edward Norton. I don’t believe this is the same villain role that Viggo Mortensen was reportedly up for, but I wouldn’t expect Jones’ character’s intentions to be purely honorable, would you?
A little bit of deadpan Tommy Lee Jones goes a long way; popcorn flicks like UNDER SIEGE, MEN IN BLACK, SMALL SOLDIERS, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER have benefited greatly from the actor’s cantankerous, often-restrained presence. Of course, the man-on-the-run nature of the BOURNE series recalls another of his famous roles: Sam Gerard in THE FUGITIVE (for which he improv-ed the single best moment in the film, “I don’t care!”). I wouldn’t even care if the role ended up being a retread of that character. It’d just be fun to watch Jones go all no-nonsense and predatory again as he tries to bring Bourne in for…whatever reason they’re looking for him this time.
Oddly enough, even though Jones and Damon have worked for many of the same directors, this would be their first time sharing the screen. Hmm.
THE BOURNE FIFTHTAMATUM looks at what they’ve made us give (roughly $40 so far, on average) on July 29th, 2016 .
