There are some film sequels and trilogies which make cinema-goers feel as though the producers are milking an old cow. And then there is the Bourne trilogy. It's fairly safe to say that most of the cinema-going public have breathed a sigh of relief that writer Tony Gilroy has come back with an encore that picks up where his original trilogy left off.
Sadly, Matt Damon has not shown the same commitment to the series, and the Bourne legacy returns to our screens without, as it happens, Bourne. Instead, a committed performance from Jeremy Renner breathes life into his Bourne-like character, Aaron Cross. While it's initially harder to identify with this genetically enhanced superspy than with Matt Damon’s highly trained but emotionally vulnerable agent, as the nifty storytelling draws us in.
Exposed by the media fallout from Jason Bourne’s very public ultimatum, Colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton) orders the immediate termination of the parallel programme Outcome – and its agents. But Aaron Cross survives, and goes on the run with Dr Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a scientist with access to the pills his body craves. Funded by Byer’s shadowy research group, a pharmaceutical company has used behaviour modification to create a new breed of hyper-intelligent field agent. Now one of these agents has gone rogue with a civilian female in tow. Byer’s team track Cross and the doctor to the Philippines – the exotic location for a string of competently staged action set-pieces. Cue large-scale, action sequences that take the series to unexplored regions of the Far East and breathtakingly executed tricks on motorbikes in rush-hour traffic.
The opening sequence finds Cross on a training exercise in Alaska, fighting off wolves and taking pills as he makes his way through the wilderness. His training mission takes place in the immediate aftermath of the Bourne Supremacy, which saw Jason Bourne exposing secret CIA operations called Treadstone and Blackbriar, created for the purpose of training contract killers with almost superhuman abilities.
With winter approaching, we’ll all be spending more time indoors, opting for the comfy warmth of the cinema instead of outdoor bars on Friday and Saturday evenings. Smart cinema-goers opt for loyalty programmes where they can get reduced ticket prices. For instance, when you register free online with Cineworld, you’ll get 10 percent off cinema tickets when you book them online – savings that could add up to a tidy sum if you go to the cinema often. Cineworld will also send you regular newsletters with cinema listings which keep you up to date with the latest releases and enter your details into exclusive competitions and offers. You can register at www.cineworld.co.uk. In London, Cineworld has branches on the Fulham road, Chelsea, Shaftesbury Avenue, The O2 Greenwich, Wandsworth and West India Quay.
Bourne is Back - And he's Taking no Prisoners has been written by Cineworld.
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