Jason Bourne of the Robert Ludlum novels is loose, but AWOL
in this new thriller. Built to function as an adrenaline pump, I found the film a riveting two-plus hours.
The covert operations of all
the Bourne-like programs are being shut down, and one by one the operatives (called
outcomes) are dropping dead from the yellow pills they have so trustingly
taken. As in the X-Files universe, the operative catch-phrase is “Trust No One.”
Jeremy Renner as Outcome No. 5, Aaron Cross, is one amazing
superhero. We first see him rise from sub-zero water (a nod to 007?), climb sheer mountain ranges, leap crevices and evade and eventually outsmart wolves. A new chemically altered spy, with super hearing, he can hear a drone strike
in a snow storm just in time to save himself.
Back at the labs where all the
outcomes’ meds are distributed, one of the scientists begins shooting all the
lab doctors, but kills himself before he gets head Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). Later, when additional
operatives arrive at her hideaway home to wipe her out, she is saved by Cross who has come to get
more of his meds, since he believes he will die without them.
How the two escape and how “they,” led by
Edward Norton (Retired Co. Eric Byer) and Stacy Keach (Retired Adm. Mark Turso)
try to capture them makes up the remainder of the film.
Tony Gilroy is credited with directing, story and co-author
of the screenplay. It takes awhile, as is true with most Bourne films, for us
as the audience to figure out exactly what’s going on, but once the sides are
clearly drawn and the fights and chases begin, this is a truly satisfying
adrenaline rush. The motorcycle chase at the climax is like riding a roller coaster.
We get
enough back-story and character development for us to root for Renner and
Weisz.
Reading some of the reviews, I didn’t expect to enjoy the
film as much as I did. For me, it was worth the ride.
The Bourne Legacy (2012) ****
No comments:
Post a Comment