For me, one of the biggest movies of the summer has nothing to do with a comic book. Instead, the film sitting atop my “baby or not, I’m seeing this” list is THE BOURNE LEGACY.

The fourth in the series of Bourne films, this is the first to not feature Matt Damon. This is a relief as I don’t know if you can trust a guy with a franchise when he makes films like ALL THE PRETTY HORSES and THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.

This time around, though, Jeremy Renner takes the reins and drives this action-packed adventure to new heights. Robert Ludlum is either really excited about this or really depressed. We won’t know because he died after hearing Matt Damon was cast as Jason Bourne. I keeeeed, I keeeeeed. My nom de plume is named after Matt Damon, so I’m allowed to have a little fun with him. It’s the rules.

So, is Jeremy Renner the next Matt Damon?

I think the answer is a resounding “yes, and much more.”

If Matt Damon brought back the James Bond-type action hero in THE BOURNE IDENTITY, Renner is redefining it. He’s starred in a slew of hits recently including MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, THE AVENGERS, and THE HURT LOCKER, which put Renner on the map. In fact, it’s hard to fault any part of Renner’s performance for the paltry (but still profitable) $200 million take at the domestic box office for MI4. He was possibly one of the better performers in the film, and that includes couch-jumper Tom Cruise and England’s current it-boy Simon Pegg. Note to Katie Holmes: marrying Jeremy Renner is an upgrade of the Treadstone variety.

Can you not imagine Renner in an action role after seeing MI4 in particular? That’s why his casting as Aaron Cross seems to be a perfect fit for the Bourne franchise. Although I’ve been careful to avoid plot points, the film’s theatrical trailer offers some excellent morsels.

I just had another nerdgasm watching this.

Some of the scenes in the trailer directly overlap scenes from the previous Bourne films, and that excites me greatly. One of the best parts of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM was the scene where Jason Bourne learns his true identity from Joan Allen’s Pam Landy. We had seen the scene before at the end of THE BOURNE SUPREMACY.

David Strathairn, Albert Finney, and even Paddy Considine (dead journalist!) also return according to the trailer and the Internet Movie Database. The lead bad guy appears to be Edward Norton, but he is sans-goatee, which is a departure for Norton when playing bad guys. Think about it. Goatee on Edward Norton nearly guarantees him as a bad guy. No goatee usually means he’s the hero.

The only thing that concerns me about the film is that it seems to be a rehash of the previous films. The CIA is out to kill one of their own assets, and he has to keep away and survive while kicking the ass of anyone getting in his way. So, I’m hoping that there’s a different piece of the puzzle here that we haven’t seen yet. Remember, Treadstone and Blackbriar have been exposed already, so where you do you go after you’ve already had your Ewok party?

We’ll find out when THE BOURNE LEGACY hits theaters on Aug. 10. See you there!

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