The emotional stakes have been muted, the romance feels half-hearted and the thematic relevance of the original trilogy has been lowered from a righteous drive to a dull roar. Talented actors like Oscar Isaac, Corey Stoll and the returning Joan Allen and David Strathairn go to waste, and the main plot to take out every assassin seems handily undone when it’s time to introduce an antagonist (Louis Ozawa Changchien), whose capacity for empathy has been dialed down as the rest of his skills have been amped up.
I agree with almost everything in this review. The one thing I disagree with is, “Renner’s performance allows for greater empathy than that of Damon’s blunt-force weapon…” I could not disagree more with this statement. I could not empathize with Renner’s character at all like I did with Jason Bourne.
I believe Joseph is going to be reviewing The Bourne Legacy a little later today so keep an eye out for that. From my brief text conversation with him, I believe he may have thought more highly of the film than I did…