Although this movie does not feature Matt Damon’s appealing
vulnerable hero, it’s surprisingly good. Written and Directed by Tony Gilroy,
who penned all three Jason Bourne movies,
“The Bourne Legacy” achieves its success with intelligence and
imagination, building on the pre-existing story, expanding its characters and
geography and leaving plenty of space for Jason to jump back in if Damon and
director Paul Greengrass decide to return. Also in Gilroy’s favor is casting
Jeremy Renner, who does a spectacular job as the hero. The story unfolds in a
straightforward manner that, nonetheless, requires the audience to pay
attention.
The movie opens thousands of miles away in Alaska, where
another agent, Aaron Cross (Renner), is finishing a grueling training regimen,
tramping over snowy wilderness, taking mysterious green and blue pills and
going one-on-one with a wolf. It seems that Aaron is an agent for another
shadowy group, Outreach, similar to Damon’s Treadstone. Meanwhile, thousands of
miles away, Dr. Martha Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a medical researcher, is
happily engrossed in her brainy work. When the leaders of Outreach (Edward
Norton, Stacy Keach, Dennis Boutsikaris) decide to shut down the program, which
means no agents, no medical researchers, no scientists. No exceptions. So Cross
and Shearing are on the run. Renner and Weisz work well together as two hunted
souls who initially need each other for practical reasons. She needs his
protection and he needs the meds that keep him physically and mentally
enhanced. Renner has enormous appeal and he and Weisz share believable
chemistry, first as uneasy friends and then as something more. With “The Bourne
Legacy,” Gilroy has brought taste and skill to a nearly impossible task:
embracing the past without completely erasing it and giving setting the stage
for future movies. 8/10/12
1 comment:
This is the best action movie of the year, better than the "Avengers", better than "Spiderman, better than all of them. Go see it, you will love it!
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