Runtime: 135 minutes
Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, and some of the faces you saw in the first three movies, even if usually briefly
From: Universal
Or: What happens after a conversation w/ a random Welshman on Letterboxd. Yesterday, someone kindly commented on my review of The Bourne Identity, which resulted in a few replies back and forth. It wasn't until the evening that I realized this was really the best time to check out this movie-after all, I have it on Blu as part of the Bourne Classified Collection. The first three I only saw the past few years and even to my surprise, I enjoyed all three despite my negative opinion of “Greengrass shaky-cam” or to be more specific, the regrettable impact it had on Hollywood the past 15 to 20 years. Its implementation in the sequels I shockingly did not hate even if I would have preferred it be shot differently. A sequel with a different director AND star did intrigue, although it also gave me pause. After viewing the film, how unfortunate it was to see Jeremy Renner in a snowy setting, not to mention genetic modification done via... a virus. Some people wearing tinfoil hats think that it's something which actually could happen!
Before I possibly kick over a hornet's nest, let me instead move onto mentioning that Renner starred as Aaron Cross, part of a program tied into Treadstone and all the rest. Amusing to me was that this plot takes place concurrently with the events shown in The Bourne Supremacy. Things go wrong so Cross has to go on the run, and it's with Doctor Rachel Weisz who is part of the program. That's all you really need to know; the rest is pretty much what you'd expect from the series. Everything you see is competent (for the most part; there did seem to be a plot thread that wasn't really finished) and not awful, yet it is totally forgettable, especially compared to the first three. The story of Jason Bourne and all his struggles is more interesting than Aaron Cross trying to... acquire meds so he can function properly.
For fans it will be nice for them to see some familiar faces again, albeit briefly; new faces like the lead duo, Stacy Keach, Edward Norton and Oscar Issac are always welcome with me. Does it really add much to the tale told in the trilogy? Eh, not really. But to reiterate, even if there's a fine score, time spent in an interesting location (The Philippines), and a performance from Weisz that is the standout, this feels too generic for me to say anything except “Eh, at least it wasn't mediocre or bad”... which may be what I think of Jason Bourne the film so there's no rush for me to check that out.
One last random note: what a rough 2023 it's been already. Renner was seriously hurt, Ken Block passed away due to another snow vehicle related accident, and there's the American football player Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest on the field during a game and is still in critical condition. I hope this doesn't portend how the entirety of 2023 will go.
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