This post is going to come off like I have a problem with
Jeremy Renner, which is simply not true. I like him just fine. He’s not enough
to sell me on buying a ticket just to see him, but he’s never done anything
that I can point at and say “fart” about. In fact he rocked my nuts off in The
Town and I’ll go as far to say he made Hawkeye more likeable than I had
expected in The Avengers.
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| Seems cool enough to me |
My problem is when I start really thinking about the guy and
his roles I wonder why Hollywood insists on selling Renner as an action
hero. Unless you are the captain of his fan club I imagine when you think of
his career these films come to mind; the upcoming Bourne Legacy, Hurt Locker,
The Avenger, The Town, and Mission Impossible 4, and maybe his heel turn in
S.W.A.T. In all these movies Renner play a tough guy, and most of the time it’s
a “you have no shot if you cross paths with me type bad ass”. I can’t help but
question why this is, he seems like a really talented actor having nabbed two Oscar
nominations already in his career, so why can’t we see him tackle some dramas
for a change? I just have a hard time buying him as an ass kicker because he’s
so small. He’s listed at 5’8 but that seems questionable when you see him on
screen, as he is just of a small stature. Honestly, it looks ridiculous when he’s smacking around
an in the best shape of his life Ben Affleck in The Town.
I’ve never seen The Hurt Locker, from my understanding it’s
a war drama, so I’ll give him a pass there but it gets included because he’s an
army type. I’ll let The Avengers go because he’s playing a superhero, although
he has no power so it’s a little strange that he can kick anyone’s ass but I’ll
play along. It would be hypocritical to light into him for MI4 given that Tom
Cruise is the star of that movie and I’m not certain he’s isn’t 5’5. (Tom has
earned his perception as an action star though through 30 years of action heroism,
and the fact he is beloved here on MHB.com). Hell, I’m feeling so generous I’ll even accept
his role as James Coughlin (The Town) because he set the screen on fire with
his intensity in that supporting spot.
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| This guy gets to do what he wants |
Where I take a stand, damn it the place where I will dig in
and hold the line no matter what, is giving him the reigns to the Jason Bourne
franchise. I’m not having it, not today, not tomorrow, and not when someone
inevitably comes to me and throws out the fact that Matt Damon is only 5’10.
There’s just a difference, if Damon isn’t truly big enough to be a big action
star he’s at least talented enough to act like one. I never had one second
hesitation buying Damon breaking necks and punching people faster than the
camera could keep up, it’s just not like that for me when I see Renner attempting
the same. I see this little guy throwing people around to me and it reminds me
that I’m watching a movie, that this is all totally fake, and when you have
those thoughts in your head during a flick the film has failed.
As you can see from the trailer, the movie actually looks
ok, but that’s really beside the point for me because I don’t find it
believable and worse it feels so unnecessary to me. The Damon trilogy changed
action movies, influenced the entire direction of the James Bond franchise, the
way they film hand to hand fights in the Batman movies is clearly derived from
the Bourne franchise, and there have been no shortage of Bourne movie impostors
out there like Green Zone (shaking my head at you Damon, you should have known
better) and Traitor with Don Cheadle. I understand the want to continue the
franchise but certainly hate the decision because for me Jason Bourne was those
movies. I went to see them for his story, not because of Treadstone. I don’t
have any desire to find out what the Aaron Cross (Renner’s character) story is
all about, and even if I did I wouldn’t buy Renner in the role.
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| Doesn't make my summer top 20 |
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| This guy looks like a hero, or anti hero I guess |
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