Killing the franchise with shallow characters, a weak plot and a non-existent showdown

Rating: 3/10 (7 October 2012)

Not again. Not another movie with flat, underdeveloped characters and a plot-line lacking resolution or showdown. 'The Bourne Identity' was a well-made piece of storytelling, packed with believable characters and a driving plot. And here we are, three movies later and one Matt Damon less. Is it the suits without their own esthetic insight who are to blame, overly relying on a known scriptwriter gone mediocre director? Or is it just plain greed? In these days, when a shaky hand-camera only looks cheap and rapid editing looks like a thinly concealed excuse for a badly planned production, quality and attention to the basics of film-making would have made a big difference. And why enter Jason Bourne into this equation? Sure, to reap profit from a successful brand. I get it. But wouldn't it have been enough to stay with the name, and not intercut old material or story lines into this alien, cold-water movie? The story? An agent (Jeremy Renner), pimped by medication and viruses to near superhuman powers is meant to be eliminated as part of a program shutdown for no really conceivable reason. A female lab doctor (Rachel Weisz) is threatened for similar motives. He saves her, they flee to the Philippines, mainly for film-production tax-break purposes, I guess. He gets weaned off medication by voluntarily being infected with a virus. They flee again. The end. The driving plot? Close to none. The antagonist? Edward Norton. The showdown? Non-existent. In fact, the two opponents never even meet. Instead, a constantly changing string of agents chases Bourne's follow-up character. The baddies are never introduced and hardly speak. At the end, the unlikely couple rides into the sunset on a boat and a sequel is set up. Hollywood, if this is the best you can do, please contact me. I can understand you are milking a dead horse. But why don't even full-time critics just say the simple truth: Bad movie, don't watch. It's easy.