Excellent Escapism

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2012)

Of all the Bourne films (identity, supremacy, ultimatum and legacy) I have to say that I liked this one the least. I like this one the least because there was no Bourne in it. I do think that writer Tony Gilroy did an excellent job in introducing this character and making the audience realize that his circumstances are the results of the first three Bourne films. The story line is basically the same as the other films.. Bourne must die and we must hunt him down (in this case Aaron Cross). When the last film ended you knew that Treadstone was on its way out and there were drastic measures that were sure to follow. Well, this film is the result of those drastic measures. You know from the trailer that Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) has been genetically enhanced, but they do not tell you much else (which is good). He somehow hooks up with Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) and you start to get that "I need to find a cure" kind of feeling. To top it all off there is the introduction of a super human, Larx #3 (Louis Ozawa Changchien) who is an emotionless, focused, killing machine. I guess these kinds of "terminator" characters have become very popular because I saw his would-be female equal just last week in Total Recall. Eric Byer (Edward Norton) was responsible for cleaning up the whole mess and covering up all the evidence of the past. Wow, he should run for office (smile). The entire cast did a good job in delivering the intent of this film including the left over cast members from the previous films (Joan Allen, David Staithaim, etc.). I think they should make one more Bourne film where Aaron Cross runs into Jason Bourne. They should call it The Bourne Reckoning. I don't think that the Bourne series should end without Bourne in it. I know it is not just me. I liked this film well enough, although it was a bit long (over 2 hours). I have always been a longtime fan of the Bourne series so I was not about to stop now. This is a film that would be worth the price of a ticket, if for no other reason than to encourage Matt Damon to come back and finish out this series the right way. I am giving this film a green light.