The Bourne Legacy trailer: Can Jeremy Renner make people forget Matt Damon?

A new teaser offers skeptics their first glimpse of The Hurt Locker star's attempts to fill Damon's shoes in the Bourne franchise

"There was never just one," teases the newly released trailer for The Bourne Legacy, the latest installment in the blockbuster film franchise. (Watch the clip below.) In this fourth Bourne film (hitting theaters August 3), Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol) plays Aaron Cross, a new agent giving himself over to a super-secret spy program. Renner, Hollywood's latest go-to action star, is stepping in for Matt Damon, who, as titular character Jason Bourne, helped the franchise's first three films rake in more than $1 billion worldwide. Will Renner be able to fill Damon's shoes?

It sure looks like it: At least the producers are acknowledging the inevitable comparisons between Renner and Damon, says Sean O'Neal at The A.V. Club. Right off the bat, the trailer includes the voiceover, "Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg." And Renner "seems perfectly at ease" and "characteristically grim-faced and tormented" as a man who surrenders his identity to the mysterious and dangerous spy program. Bonus: He gets to play off the talented Edward Norton as the film's villain. Assuming fans can move past their "Where's Damon?" sentiments, Renner should acquit himself just fine.
"The Bourne Legacy"

The jury's still out: At least in this trailer, Renner's being overshadowed by Jason Bourne, says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend. The entire first half of the teaser focuses on the Bourne mythology, offering only obscured glimpses of Renner, who barely speaks during the subsequent scattershot montage of action scenes. Producers don't "actually emphasize Renner himself" — just the "franchise they're trying to continue."
"The Bourne Legacy trailer: Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg"

Forget Renner. The film looks great: This trailer convinced me that the franchise can survive without Damon, says Jason Serafino at Complex. But it's not necessarily because of Renner. Instead, the trailer's mix of "quick cuts, bone-shattering blows, and some shadowy government agents" combines the best elements of the original trilogy, and certainly lives up to the Bourne brand. The Bourne Legacy "won't be just another vapid sequel" whose only purpose is "making a quick buck."
"Trailer park: The Bourne Legacy looks like a worthy successor to what Matt Damon started"

Judge for yourself:

 

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The Amazing Spider-Man's new trailer: 4 talking points

An eagerly anticipated reboot features a brooding Spidey played by British star Andrew Garfield. How does he compare to Tobey Maguire?

A buzzy new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man has hit the internet, featuring British star Andrew Garfield taking up the mantle of teen Peter Parker and his wall-crawling alter ego Spider-Man. (Watch the clip below.) The film, set to be released July 3, reboots the origin tale of the nerd-cum-superhero, but this time with a darker, angrier web-slinger than Tobey Maguire's character in Sam Raimi's trilogy. How does this new teaser stack up? Here, four talking points: 

1. Garfield's Spider-Man is darker and meaner than Maguire's
The Social Network star "shines" as a sarcastic, angsty teenager, says Meredith Woerner at io9. Attitude is the biggest difference between Maguire's often-merry superhero and Garfield's brooding Spidey, and the contrast is particularly stark when Garfield "ruthlessly teases a car thief with his new powers." Garfield is "hilarious, and cruel as only a snotty teen can be." Yes, he's certainly an "angry young man," says J.J. Anisiobi at Britain's Daily Mail, and director Marc Webb captures the essence of the comic book character's "mischievous style."

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2. The new villain is revealed… sort of
Finally, we get to see "Rhys Ifans as The Lizard," says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend. The Lizard — who is transformed into a mutant in an experiment gone wrong — will serve as Amazing's "primary baddie," and apparently has mysterious ties to Peter Parker's deceased father. I was particularly taken with an "action-packed" scene in which Spidey and The Lizard went head to head "on a bridge packed with innocent citizens." Eh, I dunno, says Kevin P. Sullivan at MTV. The Lizard's brief and "mostly hidden appearance" in this trailer largely "underwhelmed." Let's just hope he's "more than just a rampaging reptile." 

3. The love story has a new twist
Emma Stone isn't playing Mary Jane Watson as Kirsten Dunst did — she plays Gwen Stacy, an earlier girlfriend who predates Watson in the comics. What's the difference? Stone herself explained that "Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker, and Mary Jane falls in love with Spider-Man." Whatever, says Perez Hilton. The key is that Garfield and Stone look great together. "No wonder they hooked up in real life."

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4. This Spider-Man is clearly different. But is it different enough?
This trailer is "decent," says Jen Chaney at The Washington Post. But remember, Raimi's films came out in 2002, 2004, and 2007. It really hasn't been that long. So in the end, Amazing is "still dogged by the same question that has hung over director Marc Webb's take on the Spidey origin story from the moment it was announced": Will the new film "be different enough from the three Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire blockbusters that preceded it? That's still unclear." 

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