Pales in comparison to the other Bourne films

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 2015)

I'm a fan of the Bourne series so I had high hopes for this film despite the absence of Jason Bourne/Matt Damon. Unfortunately, while the movie had some appealing elements it fails to manage them properly.
The biggest problem is the exceedingly slow start to the film. It takes an intolerably long time to get the main plot going; there's too much unnecessary exposition and too many superfluous "look how cool our hero is" action sequences. Furthermore, the best thing about the film is the genuine chemistry between Weisz and Renner, two very talented actors I'd like to see together again in a better vehicle. I'm amazed that the filmmakers could be so blind as to the appeal of the two leads that they let the movie meander for something like a third of its length before bringing them together.
Other problems include the lack of any genuine opposition for Aaron Cross (Renner). A supposedly superior assassin is eventually sent after him, but much too late and with too little character development or screen time. Compare that to Karl Urban's genuinely menacing turn in The Bourne Ultimatum.
Along the same lines, Edward Norton is miscast as the chief spook chasing Cross. He's too young (despite the obviously-artificial grey in his hair) to bring the needed gravitas to the role. Again, I couldn't help comparing him unfavourably to similar Bourne antagonists such as Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, and David Strathairn, all of whom had the necessary lined faces and weight of years to sell the idea that they're men who've given their lives--and souls--to a series of dirty jobs in the service of their country, and are therefore willing to cross any moral line, including coldly sentencing their own agents to death.
Finally, as I watched the film, and despite the aforementioned charisma of the two leads, I found myself growing tired of yet another variation of the action hero/damsel in distress trope. I couldn't help thinking what a more interesting movie this would have been if the roles had been reversed--if Weisz had been the uber-capable agent and Renner was the fish-out-of-water scientist reluctantly helping her. Someday, perhaps...