The Bourne Legacy (2012) review





From 2002 to 2007, audiences were treated to a realistic and compelling spy series known as the 'Bourne' trilogy which starred Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an ex-CIA assassin who loses his memory after a failed mission and soon goes on the run from the CIA while trying to find out who he really is. While 2007's 'The Bourne Ultimatum' was planned as the finale to the series, being the last of the novels the films were based on written by Robert Ludlum, a fourth film soon came into play. This time, Damon does not return and neither does the director of the last two Bourne films, Paul Greengrass. Instead, 'The Bourne Legacy' (which doesn't even follow the plot of the book of the same name written by Eric Van Lustbader) is a whole different story that takes place around the time of the events of Ultimatum. In the lead role is Jeremy Renner, fresh off the success of Marvel's The Avengers. Behind the camera is a man who has been a big part of the series, Tony Gilroy, who wrote the screenplay for all of the Damon films as well as this new film.

Sadly though, this new Bourne film doesn't quite match up to Damon's trilogy. Sure, Renner is brilliant in the lead role and he is very much capable of taking over for Damon in case he decides not to return to this franchise, which is probably very likely. However, this new Bourne film isn't as compelling as the previous trilogy and, compared to those films, is rather light on action and more focused on dialogue. Granted, the dialogue is still very well written, but that really isn't what people think of when it comes to this franchise. All in all, 'Bourne Legacy' is still a very entertaining movie mainly in part due to Renner's performance. However, this could very much be a case of a sequel that probably shouldn't have been made in the first place.

The film opens up right in the midst of the events in 'Bourne Ultimatum' as Jason Bourne exposes the CIA's 'Operation Blackbriar' which puts key members of the CIA in hot water with the FBI. As this is going on, retired USAF colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton) decides to eliminate all of the members of another CIA program, Operation Outcome. While the other members of Outcome are immediately killed off, one agent named Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) survives this assassination attempt. Like the other agents of Outcome, he is provided with a set of pills that enhance his physical and mental abilities, but when the CIA tries to kill him, he begins to run out of this medicine. Enlisting the help of Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), who was his doctor while he was still a part of the CIA, Cross travels the world looking for the pills that will help him maintain his strength while also evading the CIA's forces.

From what the trailers suggest, 'The Bourne Legacy' is very much connected to the events of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' as Aaron Cross looks to 'finish what he [Jason Bourne] started'. That actually isn't the case with this movie, as it is more about Cross looking for the medication that helps him stay physically and mentally stable. When you get down to it, he's not even fighting the CIA but like Bourne, he is on the run from them. Sure, some of the events from Ultimatum are shown and the characters frequently mention Bourne's name throughout, but this is mainly during the beginning of the movie. Also, many of the actors from the previous trilogy, including Joan Allen, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, and David Strathairn are only in it for a few minutes. This is the very definition of a spin-off film and considering the way this film was promoted, the writers could've done much more to integrate this story into the tale of Jason Bourne, even if Damon's not in the actual film himself.

The other big problem with the film is that it is rather light on action. You can sort of attest this to the fact that Gilroy isn't really known for directing action films, but most of this movie just consists of people talking and for a movie that is over two hours, it goes on for a bit too much. That being said, when the action does occur, the movie is very entertaining and Gilroy does eliminate the 'shaky-cam' problem that plagued the two Greengrass films. However, the writing for this film isn't really as solid as it was for the trilogy, primarily because Renner's character is a little flat. What made Jason Bourne such a great character was that like him, we too had no idea who he was and that's what made the other movies so compelling as we learned his backstory alongside him. Here, not so much...

That's not Renner's fault, as he does do a fantastic job in the role. He proves that he has enough charisma to lead a film by himself (this being his first mainstream leading role in a movie) and also that he could take over for Damon. Rachel Weisz is also great as the female lead and she and Renner work very well together. As for the other big star in this film, Edward Norton is sadly underused. All he is given to do is to look at computer monitors and bark orders at his workers. Obviously, Norton does a good job with what he's given, but there's not much for him to do here. Really, what the film needed was a confrontation between Renner and Norton's characters. There is one scene in this movie where Renner and Norton are shown talking, which implies that the two have a history but the film doesn't delve into this.

All in all, The Bourne Legacy is a little disappointing because it doesn't quite match the standard set by Damon's trilogy of films. True, Renner does a fine job but the film doesn't really connect much to the previous trilogy and is very light on action compared to what came before it. I have high hopes that this series can continue and possibly one day see Damon returning to reprise his role as Jason Bourne alongside Jeremy Renner but now I clearly see why Damon didn't return for this movie in the first place. It sort of feels like this was another one of those unnecessary sequels that are just made so that studios could profit from a popular series. It's a shame if that truly is why this movie was made, because it could've been so much better. Still, for what it is, it's still quality entertainment.

Rating: 3.5/5