needs less chatter, more splatter

Rating: 4/10 (9 August 2012)

The good news is that there's another sequel in the exciting hit espionage series that starred Matt Damon as the superspy who didn't know he was one, based on widely-read novels by genre master Robert Ludlum. The bad news is that neither the author nor the star had anything to do with this production. Instead we get Jeremy Renner as the next generation of chemically-enhanced operatives after Mr. Bourne, working from a story written and directed by Tony Gilroy. Based on this evidence, it's hard to believe Gilroy adapted the first three novels into such successful screenplays, since this spin off is, above all else, so dull.
The hush-hush program our intelligence services devised to create agents like Bourne is under fire, with leaks about its sordid activities about to cause a storm of backlash. The honchos scramble to destroy all evidence of what they did and how they did it, including silencing the unveilers with, as they supposedly say in the biz, extreme prejudice. Renner is the one who gets away, threatening international disgrace, and a whole bunch of careers. Those with power rarely give it up willingly. So Renner's on the run through a globe-trotting series of action scenes that never manage to add up to the thrillfest we've come to expect from this franchise.
The first hour is confusing, with so many players briefly shown in so many parts of the world, and far too much dialog for the amount of action. Renner is even stiffer than usual. Some of that is consistent with his character's training, but it still makes a less compelling bond with viewers than the norm for heroes in such flicks. Gilroy is also wanting as a director (his first high-octane venture, after the relatively cerebral Duplicity and Michael Clayton), deriving less payoff in the chases and fights than he should have wrung from the budget and assets on his sets. Among the big summer action epics thus far, this one ranks as the most disappointing.