Action-Packed Mediocrity

Rating: 5/10 (11 August 2012)

Before going to see the latest installment in the Bourne series, make sure to whip out your checklist of things to expect: a government conspiracy involving supersoldiers, an innocent female that is dragged along for an unromantic adventure which she has very little purpose in, a running-on-the-rooftops escape scene, a high-speed car chase that goes on for ten minutes too long, and a supersoldier whose objective is to take out another supersoldier.
Yes, this checklist could apply to any of the three Bourne movies starring Matt Damon. After Legacy, it's clear that these trademarks are customary of any film in the series. The action sequences were impressive at times, drawn out for too long other times, but all in all, you're bound to get what you're expecting.
Jeremy Renner, fresh off of his blockbuster role in Avengers, picks up the reins right where Damon left off, and a brand new cast follows, including Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton.
We're immediately reintroduced into the world of genetically-enhanced spies with a training facility in Alaska, which Aaron Cross (Renner) progresses through with flying colors, until the program's termination comes into effect and he finds himself on the run from a government agency that wants him dead.
Sound familiar? Of course it does. This is no different than any other Bourne movie. Renner's performance as Cross wasn't on par with Damon's performances, but other than that, the acting was very similar, the action and pace were very similar, and the entire movie had a 'been there, done that' feel to it.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, because each of the three previous Bourne movies had a lot of these things in common as well. But sooner or later, this trend gets old. You can only rehash a plot so many times before it wears thin, and this is a prime example of why some series should end on a good note.
This is about as average as a movie can get - I had my checklist ready, and I knew what to expect coming in. I was completely satisfied, I got what I wanted out of the movie, and that's as far as it goes. No surprises, nothing but straight, in-your-face action for 135 minutes.
Don't expect anything more or anything less than a middle-of-the-run action flick.