Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Stacy Keach, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Albert Finney and David Strathairn
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 135 Minutes
Synopsis: The actions of rogue CIA agent Jason Bourne have had major effects for those around him. Now Aaron Cross finds himself targeted by the covert operation Treadstone…
Following up both a commercial and critical success without either star and director was always going to be a challenge for the team behind THE BOURNE LEGACY. Once Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon decided they were finished with the franchise, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Not just because the action had left us breathless, or because we didn’t want to see further adventures of the forgetful CIA agent, but because the series ended on such a terrific and satisfactory conclusion.
The BOURNE trilogy prompted the entire action genre to take a long, serious hard look at itself. It was a series that put the ‘smarts’ back into very tired, and lifeless class of picture – a thinking man’s action film if you like. However, it also dropped jaws with its game-changing stunts and deep plot development. Every character, supporting or otherwise, had blood on their hands, with motivation as shifty and complex as the government programs to which they belonged – even the series’ hero, as the finale of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM showed us. These rich plot lines ensured substantial supporting talent, most of whom attempt to close in on Damon’s Bourne. Having the likes of Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Julia Stiles, Albert Finney, Paddy Considine, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn and David Strathairn, all playing their part in the nail-biting web of intrigue, set the films apart from anything we’d seen before… or since.
So we now have a fourth film… sort of. Not a prequel, or sequel but a side-quel. As we’ve been told in the trailers, ‘What if Jason Bourne was the tip of the iceberg?’ Start your engines, we’re in for a bumpy ride!
What certainly aids THE BOURNE LEGACY is the fact the plotting runs parallel to the previous three films. We get to see just how close Bourne’s mission develops alongside new hero Aaron Cross. However, it isn’t long before we’re off to Alaska for a training exercise with Cross, who’s mysteriously popping little blue and green pills along the way. Bourne has created problems deeper than we ever imagined, leaving anyone involved likely to take a bullet for their trouble. These problems come creeping back to Renner’s Cross, who luckily escapes the explosive wrath of the powers that be, who are trying to silence everyone involved.
Whilst Bourne attempted to stir the murky cauldron and face his aggressors head-on, attempting to expose their crimes, Cross is on the run. It’s a welcome change but unfortunately means LEGACY never has the globe-trotting scale of the previous entries. However, Renner does extremely well in what is essentially his first lead blockbuster role, even if the plot is shaky at best: Rachel Weisz’s doctor must replicate the pills, which keep Cross in genetically modified super soldier mode (enhancing his speed, agility and intelligence), or at least cure him of his junkie-like desperation. This new plot development doesn’t fit as neatly into the grounded real-world setting, and is more CAPTAIN AMERICA than BOURNE.
The action too, is very minimal for a genre picture. It doesn’t kick in until Cross and the lady doctor arrive in Manila, where they clash with reinforcements sent by those tracking them back in the US. One villain – supposedly a soldier from the next level to Cross and Bourne – chases the duo on a motorcycle, in the film’s most impressive set-piece. But does THE BOURNE LEGACY feel like it belongs in the same universe? The answer is both yes and no. The scenes in which the government monitor events and attempting to close in certainly do, and Edward Norton and Stacy Keach are both welcome additions. It’s just a shame the likes of Scott Glenn, David Strathairn, Albert Finney and Joan Allen are reduced to 30-second cameos.
As a stand alone project, THE BOURNE LEGACY would easily pass for a decent enough espionage thriller. Overall however, it never impresses in the action department, and having such a high expectation doesn’t help. It shows us nothing we haven’t already seen in the franchise so far, and done to a staggeringly better degree too. Disappointing but not a disaster.
THE BOURNE LEGACY is in UK cinemas now
