Better than I expected

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2012)

In steps Tony Gilroy as director (screenwriter of the first three Bourne films) and now certified action star Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in a film that has been pretty critically pounded (55% RT) but I actually thought was alright. I certainly didn't regret watching it at all, I found it intense and enjoyable although without the coherence and emotional draw of the previous Bourne films.
The main things I took away from this film is that there is potential for further films after Jason Bourne himself. I was concerned that without the central character, the movie would fail in every respect but actually having the film deal with the aftermath of Jason Bourne's actions in the previous three films is a pretty smart move. It allows the series to continue but following a different character, in this case augmented super agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner).
Another thing I took away from this film, The Avengers and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is that Jeremy Renner is a damn good action star. Especially for a 41 year old, he is every bit as likable as Matt Damon was and equally capable of kicking butt. The only reason Aaron Cross is not as well fleshed out as Jason Bourne is that the script and plot of the previous three films were superior.
The plot is a bit strange, the first part of the film is fairly heavy exposition. Characters from previous films are dragged out and new ones are introduced and things move at a breakneck pace. Ironically, at this stage, Aaron Cross is in one place doing very little for a long time. Some people have said that the film is slow and it doesn't leap straight into action but then none of the Bourne films have started fast, they set up the plot and then the pace speeds up and up. This film is no different.
However, the plot actually ends up pretty muddled and as the stakes get raised, your emotional investment doesn't increase as much so towards the end of the film, the film behaves like the events on screen are more important than they actually are. An example of this is another agent who we are told is utterly amazing and better than Aaron Cross, they have one chase scene as that's it. We are told how important this rival agent is and yet you don't feel that way. The best sequence of the film is actually pretty much halfway through the film, when Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz's Dr. Shearling join forces in a fantastically thrilling scene in a house. It is an action film in full gear and no other sequence in the film is as thrilling, intelligent and realistic as this one.
The film is also gritty as anything. One scene is particular is incredibly intense. It doesn't pull any punches and whilst it isn't that explicitly violent, the aggression of the scene is surprising.
So the credits rolled and I was happy. Happy because I'd seen a reasonable good action film that had its flaws but felt like a Bourne film.