Coyote Cinema: Bourne Legacy

[cyrano]

Up front, solid movie but the weakest of the Bournes. I didn't feel Renner had the charisma of Damon here, and we didn't get as much of the *flash* the earlier movies were good for--the tight, whipsmart combat choreography, and the almost MacGyveresque improvisations that said "this guy is preternaturally smart and quick thinking". There was less action, but there was still the tense moving of chess pieces as the rogue agent worked to stay ahead of the Agency. I loved the way the third movie was woven into this one, and I loved the way Bourne was a phantom throughout without making an appearance. I loved how Rachael Weisz was believably a civilian who still was not reduced to screaming and being saved--a hallmark of these movies. I wish I'd had the chance to rewatch the other movies first, like we did with 'Ultimatum', because I think it would have enriched the experience. The last forty-five minutes or so are a chase scene that's probably about twice as long as it needs to be, but it did put a new twist on the rooftop escape that's in every movie.
Good performances from quite a few of the cast. Suffers from high expectations of a Bourne film. 3.5 wags.

Comments

[amanda_lodden.livejournal.com]

I will confess that I thought the Big Bad Guy was poorly implemented. He showed up too late in the film for an extended cat-and-mouse game (which is what he SHOULD have been; he was trained as an operative the same as Aaron Cross, so this would have been a perfect opportunity for Marta to "save the day" by doing something completely civilian and thus unexpected), but too early for a "we've got to up the stakes" round (which would have been best as a post-climax scene establishing him as the main opposition for the next movie). He then went down too early/easily, but he had to because no one wanted a five hour movie. I'm vaguely miffed that his final scene was made to look permanent, because it means that either they don't intend to bring him back for an extended cat-and-mouse movie, or they're going to pull some miraculous-healing bullshit at the start of the next movie.

We also talked in the car about how I felt like the ending was left hanging. CJ says there was plenty to suggest that they had dropped off the grid; I say another 30 seconds of shots with them indicating they were learning how to make their way in an off-grid society (like perhaps helping the fishing boat they were already on drag in some nets or something) and CLEARLY choosing to stay hidden would have wrapped things up better.

Having said that: I still liked the film. I also loved how they wove Bourne in without having him take over. I loved that Marta's scientist got over some of her freakout and did a little saving of her own, while still retaining her civilian-y feel. I loved that they bothered to do enough research to make Marta's science-y explanation of what the program did sound at least a little bit plausible. I loved that Jeremy Renner spent a fair amount of time with his shirt off, and for vaguely believable reasons. (Yes, of course it was gratuitous, but they tried to make it feel less so, and I appreciate that.) I loved that Rachel Weisz kept her clothes on, because while she's pretty and all, having the female lead show some skin has become far too cliche in action films.

[missdotti.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Guy should have certainly been tapped much earlier, and he should have had much tougher scenes. I was left with a "That's the best you've got?" feeling.