Review - The Bourne Legacy

 At the Theater- The Bourne Legacy -

Director and Co-Scripter Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, which I loved and Duplicity, which I hated) shows a firm grasp on the franchise- he co-scripted all three of the previous Bourne films and provides a familiar, comfortable feel to the proceedings right from the get-go with his first Directorial gig for the series.  There's dashes of exciting action and tense drama throughout- the only thing that might be a problem for some viewers is a possible feeling of "sameness" to the "agent on the run from Big Brother" storyline.  I felt it was well written, craftily Directed and filmed (thank goodness for an absolute minimum of shaky-cam this time) with some fine acting from Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Town, "Hawkeye" in this year's Avengers) and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, Constantine).  That said, it would help to have seen the other Bourne films for the sake of clarity.

Taking place simultaneously with the events in The Bourne Ultimatum, Jeremy Renner's "Aaron Cross" (the new protagonist here) is the result of a different strain of the secretive Government operative experiment known as "Treadstone" than that of the "Jason Bourne" character- he, as well as several other genetically enhanced "Operation Outcome" agents are enhanced, and subsequently kept in check, by vital medications. "Cross" must not only evade countless authorities and other operatives after the program is ditched, but he must deal with the conflict of where his next dosages will come from once he's cut off and on the run. 

Renner's "Aaron Cross"/"Ken Kitsom" is a likable enough character that audiences should easily find some level of empathy for- he's a talented actor that will be featured in a host of other films over the next couple of years.  He's the "flavor of the moment" and with good reason. He's put himself in excellent shape for the role and believability is never an issue as he's kicking the Hell out of a host of pursuers of various sorts.

Rachel Weisz (in a solidly-written role) provides a surprisingly strong, fleshed out co-star here as a Doctor/Scientist (on the run herself) helping Cross put the pieces together and confront his chemical dependency dilemma.  There's some degree of "Damsel in Distress" with her character, but never enough to be annoying and she really comes through in the clutch.  Weisz is also prettier here than I've seen her in quite some time...

Fans of Edward Norton (The Illusionist, The Score) might be displeased to find that the actor spends the entirety of his screen-time relegated to directing traffic and assassins at "command central".  He's serviceable in the role, though not particularly memorable- I wish he had been given more to do here.

Oscar Isaac (Drive, Robin Hood 2010) portrays a fellow "Outcome" operative that crosses paths with Renner/Cross, while Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Albert Finney and Scott Glenn's characters return for what would amount to about 30 seconds of cameo time combined.  Stacy Keach makes a couple of brief appearances- goodness, he's looking old...

There's only a couple of photos of Matt Damon's "Jason Bourne" floating about on various monitors here and there- that's the full extent of the actor's participation.

This entry in the franchise provides a more spacious, scenic approach, with the  majority of the first act taking place in the Alaskan wilderness- scenes where our hero squares off against wolves (no discernible CGI used here, and that's highly commendable) and a couple of ill-intentioned Predator drones are particularly entertaining.

A rather exciting, climactic motorcycle chase (featuring a few too many possible, but highly improbable stunts for my tastes) left several audience members clapping with the demise of an Uber-henchman (I felt his introduction at the eleventh hour didn't allow enough time or depth to really build an appropriate amount of hate for his character, but I got the point).  I feel compelled to point out that there's a particularly unsettling scene involving a madman shooting several of his laboratory co-workers that might trouble those sensitive souls given the rash of recent real-life events.

This movie is a rather lengthy affair (135 minutes- the longest of the four films) but is decidedly involving and moves rather briskly. Fans of the Damon/Bourne Trilogy shouldn't be disappointed, the franchise appears to be in capable hands.

And yes, Moby's "Extreme Ways" plays at the film's conclusion.

Recommended.

8.0

The Bourne Identity         8.5
The Bourne Supremacy        8.5
The Bourne Ultimatum        8.0