"THE BOURNE LEGACY" (2012) Review
Following the success of the 2007 movie, "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM", Universal Pictures announced its intentions to release a fourth movie featuring the amnesiac CIA assassin, Jason Bourne. However, their plans nearly folded when actor Matt Damon announced that he would not do a fourth movie.
Damon's announcement failed to put a final kibosh on Universal's plans. Instead, the studio and writer-director Tony Gilroy went ahead with another movie about the CIA assassination programs in which Jason Bourne had participated. Instead of bringing back director Paul Greengrass, Universal and Gilroy (who had written the first three movies) hired Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner to portray a second CIA assassin - Aaron Cross. With Gilroy in the director's chair, the results led to the fourth movie called "THE BOURNE LEGACY".
The movie's title came from Eric Van Lustbader's 2004 novel, but its plot is completely different. "THE BOURNE LEGACY" introduced a third black ops program called Operation Outcome. Unlike Operations Treadstone and Blackbriar, Outcome was specifically created by the U.S. Department of Defense and it enhances the physical and mental abilities of field operatives through pills referred to as "chems". The movie opens with one of its operatives - Aaron Cross - engaged in a training assignment in Alaska. After Cross traverses rugged terrain to a remote cabin, he meets its operator, an exiled Outcome operative, Number Three.
During Cross' time in Alaska, the Blackbriar and Treadstone programs are publicly being exposed (during the events of the previous film, "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM"), leading the FBI and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, Blackbriar supervisor Noah Vosen, Treadstone clinical researcher Dr. Albert Hirsch and CIA Director Ezra Kramer. Kramer requests help from Eric Byer, a retired Air Force colonel responsible for overseeing the CIA's clandestine operations. Byer, who had originally recruited Cross, discovers potentially damaging video on the Internet in which the lead researchers for Treadstone and Outcome - especially Hirsch - appear at professional functions in public. To prevent the Treadstone/Blackbriar investigation from finding and revealing Outcome's top-secret scientific advances, Byer decides to end Outcome and kill its agents and medical personnel. He sees this sacrifice as acceptable because the government has already separately initiated next-generation "beta programs".
Byer attempts to kill both Cross and Number Three by sending a drone bomb to destroy the cabin. Number Three is killed and Cross manages to survive, due to being outside when the bomb dropped. Byer makes another attempt to kill Cross with a second drone and unbeknownst to him, ends up killing a wolf pack. Cross learns of a massacre at Outcome's private research lab, conducted by a chemically brainwashed scientist. The sole survivor is geneticist Dr. Marta Shearing, whom Cross later saves from CIA assassins. He hopes that Dr. Shearing can help him wean or "viral" off the chemicals and at the same time, save both of them from being killed by Byer and the Department of Defense.
When Universal first leaked news of a fourth movie with Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, I did not exactly embrace the idea. As far as I was concerned, three was enough. When Damon announced that he would not reprise the Bourne role, I felt a surge of relief. As much as I had enjoyed the third BOURNE movie, I felt it was a bit of a comedown after the first two movies. Then I heard news that Universal and Tony Gilroy was going ahead with a fourth movie . . . without Damon. Again, I dismissed the idea of going to see this new BOURNE movie, until I learned that Jeremy Renner had been cast in the lead. Since I am a fan of Renner's, I decided to go see this fourth film. However, I did not believe I would enjoy it as much as the first three.
Like all of the films in the movie franchise, "THE BOURNE LEGACY" is not perfect. One, I never understood the need for Tony Gilroy to create a third black ops program. Considering that Treadstone and the current Blackbriar programs were in danger of exposure by the end of "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM", I was surprised that Gilroy did not simply make Cross a Blackbriar operative. In other words, I found the addition of a third black ops program rather irrelevant. Unfortunately, the movie also featured the continuing presence of CIA Director Ezra Kramer. His presence in the third movie struck me as writing blooper on Gilroy's part. His presence in this fourth movie is a continuation of that blooper. For some reason, Gilroy decided to utilize Paul Greengrass' shaky cam style of filming in some of the scense . . . much to my annoyance. My biggest problem with "THE BOURNE LEGACY" was the ending. I found it vague, rather sudden and anti-climatic. When the movie ended with Cross and Dr. Shearing somewhere in the South China Seas and Pamela Lundy in trouble with Federal authorities for revealing the details of the Treadstone and Blackbriar programs, the first words that left my mouth were "Is that it?". As far as I was concerned, the BOURNE franchise required a fifth movie to tie up the loose plots.
Despite the ending, despite the continuing presence of Ezra Kramer and despite the Greengrass filming and editing style; I enjoyed "THE BOURNE LEGACY" very much. Who am I kidding? I enjoyed it a lot. In fact, After seven years, I finally realized that it is my favorite movie in the franchise. I feel that Gilroy did a pretty good job of meshing the plot from "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM" with this film. A throwaway discussion between Kramer and Noah Vosen regarding Pamela Lundy in the third film finally came to fruition by the end of this movie. The movie also explored - during most of its 135 minutes - Cross' difficulties in dealing with his dependency upon the "chems", the medication that enhanced both his physical and medical condition. Like the other movies in the franchise, "THE BOURNE LEGACY" featured some first-rate action sequences. My favorites include Cross' use of a wolf pack to distract the second drone bomb from himself, the massacre at the Operation Outcome lab that featured a chilling performance by Željko Ivanek, and the long chase sequence in Manila, the Philippines. But my favorite sequence featured Cross' rescue of Dr. Shearing from the CIA assassins.
The best thing that Tony Gilroy ever did for this movie was to avoid making Aaron Cross into a Jason Bourne 2.0. He did this by creating Cross as a completely personality - verbose, more extroverted and an acute judge of character. But what really made Cross worked as a character was Jeremy Renner's performance. Some critic once said that what was the point in watching a BOURNE movie without Matt Damon. Well, the first BOURNE production I ever saw was the 1988 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain. And he was great. I also enjoyed Damon as Bourne, but . . . honestly? I did not really miss him, due to Renner's performance.
The movie also benefited from Rachel Weisz's excellent performance as Operation Outcome medical researcher, Dr. Marta Shearing. Weisz's Shearing was a quiet, intense personality, whose ordered life was thrown upside down by her brainwashed colleague and later, the CIA. Weisz was exceptional in the scene featuring the CIA assassins' murder attempt on her. More importantly, the actress and Renner proved to have a superb and somewhat humorous screen chemistry. Another excellent performance came from Edward Norton, who portrayed the ex-Air Force colonel Eric Byer. What I liked about Norton's performance was that he portrayed Byer without the occasional frantic behavior that marked David Strathairn or Chris Cooper's performances. Stacy Keach, whom I have not seen in several years, portrayed a high ranking Federal official named Mark Turso. I cannot recall ever seeing him in a villainous role (at least not to my knowledge), but I must admit that I found his performance very impressive. Oscar Isaac, whom I last saw in "STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI" and "TRIPLE FRONTIER", gave an effective and subtle performance as the other Outcome agent, Number Three. It was nice to see Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney again. But they were not on the screen long enough for me to judge their performances. However, I did enjoy supporting performances from the likes of Donna Murphy, Dennis Boutsikaris, Michael Chernus, Corey Stoll, Elizabeth Marvel, Louis Ozawa Changchien and especially Željko Ivanek, who gave both a poignant and later, scary performance as Marta Shearing's colleague, Donald Foite.
Like I had earlier stated, "THE BOURNE LEGACY" was not perfect. But I more than enjoyed it very much. Not long after the film's release, Universal Studios had decided to green light a fifth film with Jeremy Renner reprising his role as Aaron Cross. His performance, along with Rachel Weisz and the rest of the cast, made this movie very enjoyable for me, along with a script that I believe was simply better than the franchise's other films. Unfortunately, that second film with Renner and Weisz never materialized. Damn.
"THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" (2004) ReviewI have read only one of three novels written by Robert Ludlum about the amnesiac spy and assassin, Jason Bourne. And it was the 1980 novel - the first one. It was pretty good novel, but it bore scant resemblance to Doug Liman's 2002 movie, "THE BOURNE IDENTITY". I never saw "THE BOURNE IDENTITY" in the movie theaters. But I did see it on DVD and became an instant fan. It did lead me to see the 2004 sequel, "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" in the theaters. I never read the 1986 novel from which the movie derived its title. It was just as well. This movie bore no resemblance, whatsoever, to Ludlum's second novel.Set two years after the 2002 movie, "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" began in Berlin, Germany; where a C.I.A. operation to obtain information on an Agency mole that stole $20 million dollars of allocation money. The operation was led by a C.I.A. Deputy Director named Pamela Landy. However, a Russian F.S.B. agent named Krill killed Landy's source and a field agent, stole the evidence and framed former operative Jason Bourne for the crime by planting a false fingerprint. Krill's benefactor, an oil magnate named Yuri Grelkov, ordered him to kill Bourne, who was living in Goa, India with his girlfriend, Marie Kreutz. Krill ended up killing Marie after a high-speed chase in Goa. And Bourne returned to Europe to exact revenge upon the C.I.A., believing they were responsible for Marie's death. At the same time, Bourne has been besieged by dreams and memories of an early assignment that led to his murder of two people in a hotel - an assignment that ended up having strong links to the botched operation in Berlin."THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" turned out to have the shortest running time in the entire movie franchise. Although it featured two chase sequences - one in Goa and the other in Moscow, it seemed less action-oriented than the other two films. If I must be honest, this BOURNE movie is noteworthy for two things, the death of Marie Kreutz and the introduction of C.I.A. director Pamela Landy. It has never received the same level of attention that the other movies have. And yet . . . it is my favorite one in the entire trilogy that features Matt Damon.I have at least two problems with "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY". My first problem featured the character of Jarda, portrayed by actor Marton Csokas. During his confrontation with Bourne inside his Munich home, Jarda claimed that they were the only two Treadstone operatives still living. Originally, I thought Jarda was the same guy who had killed Alexander Conklin in "THE BOURNE IDENTITY" (portrayed by actor Russell Levy). But I learned that Conklin's killer was named Manheim. And according to the 2002 movie, there were only three other Treadstone operatives, aside from Bourne. Jarda was NOT one of them. Had screenwriter Tony Gilroy forgotten about Manheim? "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" marked Paul Greengrass' debut as the director of a BOURNE. Doug Liman, who had directed the first film, served as one of the film's producers. It also marked the first appearance of the shaky-cam style filming that I have grown to dislike. Such style of filming is fine in a war movie or a documentary-style flick. But it almost made the chase sequences in Goa and especially in Moscow visually confusing.Despite what I believe were flaws in the movies, I cannot deny that I love "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY". It may have been the least action-oriented film in the franchise, but I firmly believe that thanks to Tony Gilroy's writing, Paul Greengrass' direction and Matt Damon's performance; it was the most emotional film of the three. And it featured great character development for the Jason Bourne, Pamela Landy, Nicky Parsons and Ward Abbott characters. This movie, I believe, featured Matt Damon's finest moment in the entire trilogy and some of his best acting, period. Ludlum's 1986 novel included a plot line that featured the character of Marie St. Jacques Webb being kidnapped to coerce David Webb into assuming the role of Jason Bourne again in order to deal with a deadly assassin. Gilroy was inspired by this plot line to create a story in which Bourne's past as an assassin would force him to atone for his crimes - especially the one crime that started his career for Treadstone. Marie's death at the hands of Krill forced Bourne to seek out the C.I.A. again. It also led to what I believe to be the best scene in the entire trilogy - Bourne's meeting with the young Russian girl, whose parents had been his first victims. But there were other scenes that either took my breath away or strongly impressed me. They include Marie's death in Goa, the verbal confrontations between Pamela Landy and Ward Abbott, Bourne's fight with Jarda, Nicky Parson's terror-filled conversation with Bourne about his first assignment, Bourne's realization that he had been tricked into committing two unsanctioned murders by Conklin and Abbott, Abbott's final conversations with both Bourne and Landy, and the Bourne/Krill car chase in Moscow. Looking at this list, I realize that many of these scenes were dramatic, instead of action-oriented. And this does not bother me, because the level of drama and the performances made it all worthwhile.I cannot talk about "THE BOURNE SURPEMACY" without discussing the cast. I have already expressed my delight at Matt Damon's acting in this film. He gave his usual, top-level performance. And as I had stated earlier, his scene with actress Oksana Akinshina, who portrayed the daughter of the Russian couple he had killed years earlier, was probably the best I had seen in the franchise. I found it intense, yet subtle and emotional. Joan Allen made her first appearance as C.I.A. Deputy Director Pamela Lundy. I have a deep suspicion that her role was inspired by Judi Dench's tenure as "M" in the last six James Bond movies. Allen proved to be equally strong and commanding as Lundy, yet at the same time, managed to quietly express her character's insecurities in her scenes with Brian Cox's Ward Abbott. I must admit that I was not hat impressed by Cox in the first BOURNE movie. He seemed to be overshadowed by Chris Cooper's more showy portrayal of Alex Conklin. But he was in top form as the quiet and desperately manipulative Ward Abbott, who along with Yuri Grelkov, was responsible for the theft of the missing C.I.A. funds. Like Cox, Julia Stiles' second appearance in a BOURNE movie proved to be a lot more impressive. Her character, Nicky Parsons, transformed from the shadowy Treadstone operative to a woman frightened at the idea of facing a murderous Jason Bourne. Her emotional scene with Damon's Bourne in Berlin proved to be one of the best in the movie. Franka Potente briefly returned as Bourne's doomed girlfriend, Marie Kreutz to give a first-rate performance in a scene that featured the character's attempt to keep Bourne's raging paranoia in check. Her death at the hands of Krill proved to be one of the most surprising moments I have encountered in a movie in years. For someone who spoke very few lines, Oksana Akinshina did an excellent job in her portrayal of the Neskis' daughter. That confession scene with Damon would have never worked without her spot-on response. Although I had seen Karl Urban in two "LORD OF THE RINGS" movies by 2004, his performance as the cold-blooded F.S.B. agent Krill, finally led me to take notice of him as an actor. Urban radiated more presence in this role than he did in Peter Jackson's movies. And he managed to achieve this with less lines. More importantly, his Krill proved to be a VERY effective nemesis for Bourne, despite being a lesser trained operative. And finally, the movie also featured a brief appearance by Tomas Arana in a sharp performance as the sardonic C.I.A. Director Marshall.Yes, "THE BOURNE SUPREMACY" has its flaws. I cannot deny this. Just about every movie I have seen has flaws. I have also noticed that it has attracted less attention than the other two BOURNE movies. Yet, thanks to Paul Greengrass' direction, Tony Gilroy's script and a superb cast led by Matt Damon; it is my favorite film in the franchise.
Below is my review of the 2009 political thriller, "STATE OF PLAY", starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck:
"STATE OF PLAY" (2009) Review
Twelve years ago, the BBC aired a six-part miniseries about a London journalist who investigated the death of a young aide for a Member of Parliament, who also happened to be the journalist's friend. The miniseries not only became a critical and ratings hit, it spawned a Hollywood remake - the 2009 political thriller by the same title called "STATE OF PLAY".
Directed by Kevin MacDonald, "STATE OF PLAY" is about a Washington D.C. newspaper's investigation into the death of a young congressional aide named Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer) and centers around the relationship between leading journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) and his old friend Robert Collins (Ben Affleck), a U.S. congressman on the fast track and Baker’s employer. When Congressman Collins learns of his aide’s death, he asks his old friend, McAffrey to investigate her death when it is labeled as a suicide. McAffrey and a blogger with his newspaper named Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) not only learn that Baker was Congressman Collins’ mistress, but there might be a connection between her death and the private military company that the congressman was investigating.
I have heard a few proclaim that the original British miniseries is superior to this version. I have seen the miniseries. I must admit that I found it impressive, but . . . I cannot agree that it was better. However, I cannot say the same about this movie remake. I found both versions to be flawed, yet very impressive. As for this movie, Kevin Macdonald’s solid direction; screenwriters Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Peter Morgan, and Billy Ray created a tight thriller filled with interesting glimpses into the press and Washington politics. I doubt that this film will ever be critically acclaimed like the British miniseries or earn any award nominations. I find this a pity, because I believe it was a solid, well-acted movie filled with first-rate performances. And its story did not end on a disappointed note. As far as I am concerned, both the 2003 miniseries and the 2009 movie are equal in quality.
Russell Crowe led the cast, portraying Washington Globe journalist, Cal McAffrey. I would not consider his role as interesting as the Ed Hoffman character from ”BODY OF LIES”, Bud White in "L.A. CONFIDENTIAL", Jeffrey Wigand in ”THE INSIDER” or his Oscar winning role in ”GLADIATOR” - Maximus Decimus Meridius. His Cal McAffrey is on the surface, an affable, yet slightly jaded reporter who becomes a relentless truth-seeker when pursuing a special story. In the case of Sonia Baker, McAffrey’s relentless investigation seemed rooted in his desire to extract his friend Collins from the gossip slingers over the latter’s affair with the aide and focus upon bringing down the private military company being investigated by Collins. Crowe is at turns relaxed and at the same time, intense and single-minded in his pursuit of journalistic truth.
Several years ago, I had found myself thinking that if there was ever a remake of the 1950 classic, "SUNSET BOULEVARD", who could portray the doomed Hollywood screenwriter, Joe Gillis. The first person that immediately came to my mind was Ben Affleck. Actress Nancy Olson once described William Holden at the time that particular movie was filmed as the typical handsome Hollywood leading actor . . . but with a touch of corruption that made his Joe Gillis so memorable. Frankly, I could say the same about Affleck. I saw him display this same trait in movies like "BOUNCE" and "HOLLYWOODLAND". And I could see it in his performance as Congressman Robert Collins. Affleck managed to skillfully project Collins not only as a dedicated crusader who is determined to bring down the private military company with a congressional investigation, but also a flawed man who became sexually attracted to his beautiful aide, while struggling to control his anger at the knowledge of his wife Anne’s (Robin Wright Penn) past affair with McAffrey.
The rest of the cast included Rachel McAdams’ first-rate portrayal of a popular blogger turned junior political reporter named Della Frye, who finds herself in the midst of the career-making story and mentored by McAffrey. Helen Mirren’s Washington Globe editor Cameron Lynne is wonderfully splashy and strong, without being over-the-top. I could say the same for Jason Bateman’s performance as a bisexual fetish club promoter named Dominic Foy, who has the information that McAffrey and Frye need. Michael Berresse portrayed a mysterious hitman named Robert Bingham and he does a pretty good job. However, I must admit that I found his performance as a sociopath a little over-the-top . . . especially in his last scene. Although not as memorable as some of the other supporting cast, both Harry Lennix as a stalwart Washington D.C. cop and Jeff Daniels as Affleck’s manipulative congressional mentor gave solid support to the movie. And there is Robin Wright Penn, who portrayed the congressman’s wife, Anne Collins. Penn gave a complex performance as the politician’s wife who is not only hurt and betrayed by her husband’s infidelity, but wracked with guilt over her own past indiscretion with McAffrey, along with desire for him.
If you are expecting "STATE OF PLAY" to be the next "ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN" or "SEVEN DAYS IN MAY", you are going to be slightly disappointed. I have seen better quality political films than this movie. But I can honestly say that I still found "STATE OF PLAY" to be an excellent and entertaining movie filled with intelligence, humor and a strong and steady cast.
