The Bourne Legacy – ★★

SYNOPSIS: Set during the timeline of The Bourne Ultimatum, the corporations Treadstone and Blackbriar find themselves tracking down rogue assassin Jason Bourne while another fellow spy Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is hiding out in Alaska. When the Outcome Project that he was on is terminated, official Eric Byer (Edward Norton) orders all the assassins from the programme to be killed off. But Cross manages to survive and makes a return to suburban America where he ends up seeking the help of female scientist Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). Cross needs her to find a cure for the drugs he has been taking knowing that he’ll die if he isn’t successful which leads to the pair going on the run whilst pursued by Byer and his team.

The Bourne franchise returns with a not-so mighty bang in Tony Gilroy’s underwhelming action spin-off The Bourne Legacy. But this isn’t down to replacing our titular hero with another character but more the fact that this film didn’t really need to be made. The Bourne Ultimatum gave us a fitting ending to the series yet here it seems that Gilroy wants to try and expand the Bourne world by squeezing this story into Ultimatum’s plot. It ends up being a dragged-out experience at over two hours long and still leaves you short-changed when we get an exhilarating chase sequence followed by a relaxing scene that concludes suddenly with the credits and leaves you wanting more.

Those expecting the fast-paced action of the first three outings will have to endure a long wait as it takes a good half hour before things really kick off especially when our new hero is isolated in the Alaska forests. Once we get to the central point of the plot regarding Cross’s antidote quest, it fails to really captivate us as we crave the physical fights sequences to keep us interested.

Unlike the original trilogy, we only get half-hearted explanations about situations in this film that try to justify it’s existence particularly with this new Outcome Project and what it has to do with the previous Bournes as we know that Treadstone and Blackbriar are too busy trying to stop our original hero. The advertising for this also doesn’t help matters with former faces like Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Albert Finney getting mentions in the trailer and poster yet only popping up for blink-and-miss cameos that take away the whole point of trying to link all these films together.

But of the acting newcomers, it is the out-of-form Edward Norton who struggles to make an impact. Unlike the previous villain roles in this series, his Eric Byer character lacks the arrogance of Chris Cooper’s character or the menace of Brian Cox and Strathairn’s characters and instead comes across as a frustrated government agent who has no sincere malice for wanting Cross killed other than to feel good for what he’s doing.

On the subject of good, there are some minor highlights to savour for this installment especially from its two leading characters. These were big boots for Jeremy Renner to fill following Matt Damon’s departure as he gives his best in making the Aaron Cross character vulnerable yet likeable despite the torrid script. As we’ve come to expect from Renner’s career, he packs a punch too during the fight sequences. Death by table anyone? Most surprising though is Rachel Weisz who makes a welcoming return to blockbusters after her time on the Mummy films as her character ends up being just as if not more interesting than Cross. She is more than just a pretty face as her scientist character Marta provides humane emotions whenever in trouble such as the surprisingly brutal massacre scene at her lab involving a deranged colleague. Once she avoids another dangerous predicament at her house, she and Cross are practically together for the rest of the story with Renner and Weisz delivering a subtle chemistry that sets up well for the potential sequel despite this film’s problems. A final note should be that the well-choreographed action sequences are still as slick as we remembered with the stand-out moment being a riveting motorbike chase involving our heroic duo in the film’s concluding scenes.

VERDICT: Renner and Weisz try their best with their performances but this unnecessary sequel and its complicated story struggles through the absence of Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon which leaves the franchise in a messy position.

Be the first to comment on "The Bourne Legacy – ★★"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*