A Really Big Missed Opportunity

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2019)

20 August 2012. Aaron Cross as played by Jeremy Renner is apparently no Jason Bourne as played by Matt Damon. With this amazing script that had some of the best dialogue of any espionage movie, the emotional conflict and tension on a real human level, the director let Renner down and maybe Jeremy Renner himself as well as Rachel Weisz's character just don't seem to fit the script's overall characterization. Aaron Cross's portrayal belies the cool and required strong demeanor of the best special ops person - he wears his emotion on his sleeve and doesn't seem to really have any observable enhanced physical or intellectual abilities that were supposedly described in the movie. The ending is a great disappointment as if a balloon were to pop but instead of a loud explosion, there is only a leaky, deflation, not typical of any of the preceding Bourne movies.
There are small problems, such as in the beginning when Cross is shooting at something but the audience doesn't get to see what immediately or why. Later there the encounter with the opposition which is some of the most sloppy work by Renner's character of any of the Bourne movies (though perhaps there was an underlying intent, but it was made evident), and then there's the convenient opposition that seem to be able to somehow track Renner and company somehow even after a nice getaway. The chase scene with the Asian being so lucky in his dumb decision to use a car instead of a motorcycle only adds to the problems with this movie.
What was intriguing and unique in this movie was the real-time parallel between the Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne Legacy though it wasn't quit seamless and Joan Allen's role was very underdeveloped here. There were the creepy parallel's to the real life Aurora, Colorado movie shootings and the pilot attempting to steal a jet in St. George, Utah.
Overall, the movie starts way slow, with some glimpses of some great mental espionage going on, and an excess of repetitive physical action, and a weak ending.