Issue: "Syria's pain," Sept. 8, 2012
Stephanie PerraultStephanie Perrault

Bourne for action

Movies | Fourth installment of popular series introduces a new super agent

Mary Cybulski/Universal Pictures/AP

The Bourne Legacy (PG-13 for language and violence), fourth installment in the popular Bourne espionage series, introduces audiences to a new super agent: Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), an all-American outdoorsman who leaps cliffs, wrestles wolves, and is a mean motorcycle rider.

Renner plays the super-spy role with wry wit and a quick smile, making Cross a more relatable and believable character than Matt Damon's dementia-stricken assassin. Genetic doping has given Cross unusual strength and mental prowess: He saves the life of myopic virologist Dr. Marta Sheering (Rachel Weisz), then challenges her thinking, and convinces her to embark on an international quest for freedom.

Well-paced action, flying bullets, and speeding motorcycles leave a little room for flashes of tenderness between the two protagonists, which hint at the possibility of future romance while leaving the on-screen interaction surprisingly pure.

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