August 26, 2012



Contains spoilers



In this fourth installment of the Bourne films, we are introduced to Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), a member of the Department of Defense’s black ops program, which enhances the physical and mental abilities of the members.  However, I found the film kind of ‘picked up’ where the last one left off sort of, which made it very confusing as I really don’t remember the other films, or at least the other characters besides Jason Bourne. Let me try to explain.



While is on a field training mission in Alaska, we learn that someone from the inside is leaking information to a journalist on the secret programs of the government and it’s implied that it’s Jason Bourne (the character played by Matt Damon in previous films). We also learn that from that the FBI is investigating CIA agent Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and her involvement in letting Bourne go, the programs, etc.  As a way to ‘clean up’ the mess, the group brings in Eric Byer (Edward Norton). Byer decides the best way to make it all go away is to shut the program down, meaning kill all the operatives and the engineers who make the chems.



Back in the field, Cross meets up with another operative in a cabin in search of chems, as he is running low. The chems we later learn are what alters the body’s DNA and make the operatives stronger and smarter. Sensing something is off, he leaves the cabin seconds before a drone, sent by Byer, destroys the cabin with the other operative in it. Knowing he’s being followed, he cuts out his tracker and gets the drone off of him. He is assumed dead.



Meanwhile, Byer also orchestrates a murder-suicide at the lab of engineers, where Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) is the only survivor. Confused and scared, she tries to flee the country to her sister’s, but a team is sent in to orchestrate her ‘suicide.’ However, Cross, seeing her picture in the paper as the lone survivor and somehow figuring out they are shutting the program down, comes to her rescue. The pair flees, however, the government is just a few steps behind. Cross says he just wants the chems to balance him out, so they head to the Philippines, where the main lab is. In order to complete his progress, he needs to ‘virus out’ and that virus is in that lab. Just as Shearing administers the dosage, they are running again. And as he gets ‘sick’ before he gets better, they hide out in a room. Of course, the government finds them, in addition to another operative from the Larx program.

Of course, there is a long chase scene and the film ends with Shearing and Cross on the run and the government wondering what the hell happened.



I mean, taken for what it is, a chase-action film, it’s not bad. But considering it’s the fourth installment of a film, I felt the audience had to try and remember key players from other films, not including Bourne. And I feel like as a film that’s trying to possibly break away from the other films and start a whole new story line, which is fine, it relied too much on information from the other plots.



There were some questions too, such as how the hell did Cross make it to Shearing house like that? How did he figure out what was going on? She played dumb, saying she was just a scientist, but I mean, how stupid can someone be? Altering the human DNA? Come on. Of course, everything is orchestrated by the government when something like that is compromised. And when the two head to the Philippines and get into the lab, why the hell did her pass key work? Shouldn’t that have been deactivated the minute they sent the team to her house to kill her? I know they didn’t think she’d head to that lab, but come on? She’s a threat to the program, deactivate her key!



I don’t know. I guess I expected more from it. Again, if you take it for what it is, just a regular, run-of-the-mill action/government conspiracy film, then it’s not half bad. But if you’re expecting a good Bourne film, you’ll be slightly disappointed.

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2 stars.