… did everyone forget the scene in The Bourne Supremacy where Jason put a gun to Nicky’s head?

Aaron and Marta have a very interesting similarity in that they both did this despicable work for very bad people. They are, essentially, defense contractors. You can dress the work up in noble language (“I did it for the science!”) but the fact is they are cogs in a killing machine. They could claim they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into (unlikely in her case – she’s no dummy) but now that they know, are they really just going to sail off into the sunset? I hope they get into those issues in the next installment!

I view his motives a little differently. See, he was the last person of his “kind” left and Dr. Marta was the last doctor in her class left alive as well. The two of them had the knowledge and capabilities to expose what the CIA was doing and potentially save many people. Now, that may not have been on their immediate minds (they are, afterall, human), but it is definitively possible thanks to him saving both his own life and hers.

I am on the “delicate flower” train however…I thought he was pretty sympathetic, especially in that one scene that really established where he was coming from in his previous life. Just about broke my heart (I may have been a little overinvested).

I definitely agree, though, that they are going to have a LOT of character development to do in the sequel. There was a good start, at the end, with his obvious affection and attachment to Marta, which makes him more of a human and less of a reptile, but it will be interesting to see where they take him next.

I love that the doctor had to save their asses at the end. That was a nice way to top off that confusing motorcycle chase. It also balances their relationship a little better.

After seeing it a second time, I did find Cross a little more sympathetic. I was just really taken aback on the first go-round that their angle with the character was “drug addict” (as opposed to amnesia). That’s a really gutsy call, given that they’re already getting the hairy eyeball from the audience for “replacing” Jason Bourne. Both times I saw it, in the scene when he’s yelling at Marta about the chems–Jesus, that obnoxious term–there was palpable discomfort among the audience in the face of her plain terror and his aggression. In fact, when I saw it with a general audience over the weekend, the woman behind me whispered, “Jason Bourne would never do that,” at that point in the film. That’s what I mean by unsympathetic. His introduction is kind of shocking. The entire first half of the movie is just him addicted and needing more pills.

BUT, then, especially the second time around when I got over that fairly insane characterization call, the “delicate flower” part kicks in and he’s really at Marta’s mercy. My friend was joking, but the larger point we discussed after the movie stands–Aaron Cross is far more dependent on outside help than Jason Bourne ever was. He needs a lot of nurturing in order to stabilize enough to be able to defend himself (and Marta). Once Bourne recovers from his initial gun shot that causes the amnesia, he doesn’t really need anyone else. If Marie, or later Nicolette, had abandoned him at any point, he would’ve been able to keep going just fine. But Cross will absolutely die without Marta’s intervention. You can see him slipping even as they’re getting to Manila and to the pharmacological lab. She is really dragging him the last few feet across the line. Thus, he’s a “delicate flower”, because he needs the push.

But it leaves Cross at an interesting point if they go forward with another installment in his story, because he’s basically back to square one, character-wise. We know a little more about him, particularly his origins, but now that he is no longer driven by the need for the chems, what is his motivation? Does he keep moving forward trying to get away from the CIA, or does he turn back, like Bourne did, to settle some score? He has a lot less of a score to settle than Bourne, though, except for the whole “you tried to kill me” thing. Bourne thought he was signing up for a special ops unit and then ended up getting his whole personality erased and over-written, but Cross knew what he was getting into (albeit, arguable since he was essentially mentally challenged). But he does remember his past and his desire to not go back to that, so in the end, where Bourne feels betrayed and mislead, Cross is still grateful for the end result of Outcome. So his revenge motivation is maybe a little murkier. Personally, I’d like to see him hunt down Bourne and be like, “WTF dude they’re killing everyone because of you!” and let Bourne cope with the wider fallout of his actions.

So yes, you are right and he is not totally unsympathetic, but if they go ahead with the Aaron Cross character, they are going to have to fill in a lot of blanks left behind once you take “drug addict” off the character table.

My only disagreement with your review: I actually found Aaron Cross very sympathetic. He wasn’t someone with an elite background, he was an underachiever with no real options but to join the army and even that was only available because the recruiter added 12 points to his IQ. I also wonder what it was he didn’t want to go back to, that was so awful that he would rather stay at whatever facility he was in after he was so badly injured, I’m assuming in the explosion that “officially” killed him. I think he had some very personal reasons for committing to the program and once he became used to being so capable, of course he didn’t want to lose that. It’s like someone with a debilitating mental illness, slowly losing their mental faculties. OF COURSE they’d want to fight that loss. I also never felt that his desire to maintain his physical and mental superiority came from a place of malice. I got the impression he wanted to do some good, but maybe evolved to wanting to do it autonomously rather than as a cog in a machine he couldn’t even see. This evolution is what makes me wonder where his scene with Edward Norton fit into the timeline. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I’m guessing it’s AFTER he’s been in the Outcome program for a while and is seeing how things actually work when you’re in the know and not just a grunt.

Overall, I’m very excited to see where his character goes in future movies. It also helps that I am a huge Jeremy Renner fan. I want more Mission Impossible, just for him.