The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Violence and mature themes
The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films. For The Bourne Legacy, Renner joins fellow series newcomers Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac, while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 100mins |
| Origin: | UNITED STATES |
| Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 |
The spy who replaced me
by Simon Miraudo, 14/08/2012 3:20:00 PM
"There was never just one," the posters for The Bourne Legacy tease. They refer to the members of the CIA's hush-hush Treadstone program, of which forgetful super-spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), was, well, born from. We got three great films with him as the lead, and maybe that's more than we deserved, because now we are being punished with a fourth that instead stars Jeremy Renner as the Bourne-like (and Bourne-lite) Aaron Cross. I'm a big fan of Renner, and I wish him all the success in the world. Nonetheless, The Bourne Legacy feels like the woozy comedown from a dizzying, delirious adventure. If Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum were the cheeky entrée, mouth-watering main, and delectable dessert, respectively, watching this fourquel feels like finally receiving the bill. Previous dire...
"There was never just one," the posters for The Bourne Legacy tease. They refer to the members of the CIA's hush-hush Treadstone program, of which forgetful super-spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), was, well, born from. We got three great films with him as the lead, and maybe that's more than we deserved, because now we are being punished with a fourth that instead stars Jeremy Renner as the Bourne-like (and Bourne-lite) Aaron Cross. I'm a big fan of Renner, and I wish him all the success in the world. Nonetheless, The Bourne Legacy feels like the woozy comedown from a dizzying, delirious adventure. If Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum were the cheeky entrée, mouth-watering main, and delectable dessert, respectively, watching this fourquel feels like finally receiving the bill.
Previous directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass are out, and the original trilogy's "narrative architect" Tony Gilroy has been handed the wheel. The "narrative architect" classification comes from the promotional materials, in place of the far less sexy yet more accurate title of "screenwriter." Perhaps they didn't want to state that explicitly, considering Damon accused his drafts of being unreadable. Gilroy has helmed two fine features prior to Legacy, however: Michael Clayton and Duplicity; the former is the stone-faced sibling of Bourne, while Duplicity is the giddy, silly cousin. Sadly, while trying to ape both the flash of Liman and the immersive freneticism of Greengrass here, he comes up short.
In the ongoing saga's timeline, this one takes place between parts two and three, and begins with Aaron Cross on a solo survival mission in Alaska. A rendezvous with another operative (Oscar Isaac) is cut short by an army attack; now that Bourne's AWOL and intent on exposing the CIA's controversial project, one of its founders, Eric Byer (Edward Norton), has orchestrated a mass wipe-out of their ultra-intelligent, profoundly powerful, extremely resilient assassins. Cross, obviously, survives, and kidnaps kindly Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) so that she might restore his supply of green and blue pills (Macguffins rx), which help him to run at full capacity. There's a fight sequence or two, a car chase, and an admittedly chilling shootout involving Željko Ivanek, wedged in between all the dense, impenetrable, shadowy back-room dealings, and Renner and Weisz's exasperatingly drawn-out escape from authorities. Sometimes the movie is convincing as a fun, competent, thrilling blockbuster, with thoughtful performances from the main trio. Sometimes.
The shadow of Damon's Bourne looms large, and Legacy goes to great lengths to refer to him constantly and proudly display his picture (that ten-year-old passport photo might have the second most screen-time after Renner himself). I can't think of another franchise entry that works this hard to justify its own existence. The irony, of course, is that a decent actioner is justified by decent action, and The Bourne Legacy just does not deliver. You could argue that it's merely a bridge between the previous instalment and the inevitable sequel in which Damon's Bourne would ideally return. This bridge feels rickety and incomplete.
2.5/5
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Member Reviews (66)
66 Member
Reviews
Lee
says
I loved this movie, the action is amazing but I think Jeremy's acting is the clincher, he's a killing machine but has this vulnerability about him, you can see that he's been through a lot, I fell in love with his character :).
anne
says
Not the same without Matt Damon. Terrible acting.
Kazza
says
Thoroughly enjoyed, action great, but maybe not up to the standard of first, still good to watch
TM
says
Action packed movie but not in the same league as the original triology!
aussiebaron
says
A poor reflection of previous Bourne yarns.
Fairy floss viewing with no substance..
Lynnieb
says
Loved it like all the Bourne movies. Great action, story, and incredible locations.
says
The first 3 Bourne movies are exciting, the Bourne Legacy blows them away..its non-stop action, its very smartly done and it takes you to so many places around the world! Hope there will be MORE Bourne movies to come soon.
says
I have been getting really bored with the Bourne movies but I thought they did a pretty good job changing it up. Love Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz.
barbara
says
prefer the Matt Damon 'Bournes'
Kristina
says
I was very disappointed in this. I lost track of what was going on and with Matt Damon not in the movie it was very hard to understand the plot and how everything fit together.
Rocky
says
Even though not Matt Damon still can not wait for the next movie
Livingwell13
says
I struggled at the start to figure out what was going on, as they use all that Gov't speak and I couldn't really sort out who was who for a while, but once I worked out where they were going with it, I really got into it. It was as good as the other three Bourne movies in the franchise. Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz are really good actors who really carried the movie.
says
Enjoyed this part of the Bourne series
Adauncey
says
Got to keep up, the legacy's keep you're brain working.
garrett
says
Good movie - moves along at a great pace. Worth a look
says
Excellent movie lots of action and guts
Rainie
says
Thoroughly enjoyed this .....fast paced and just as entertaining as the original
Bourne movies...
says
Good twists and turns
says
Very enjoyable action movie.
Matt Damon
says
Yep pretty good, given we were all expecting it to be average without matt damon, I was impressed.
BH
says
sharp movie. great addition to the series...
maria
says
very good worth seeing. keeps you watching eagerly all the time. and it is nice that no big lovey duvey naked scenes come into it. The story doesn't need love scenes to make it good.
paul o
says
A good one.
Craig
says
Where was Jason Bourne? This movie was disappointing and the end was such an anti climax. The Bourne films were all so good, not this one!
Jane chapman
says
I think this was the thinnest of this series, characters poorly delineated so the action focus was just that without any investment in the outcome on the part of the viewer
Tara
says
Loved it - depth in characters and well directed making it a pleasure to watch.
Ros Marshall
says
Great movie. Well acted and produced. Awesome motor bike chas
says
ok
Robert
says
A reasonable movie ruined by the overlong and unnecessary motor bike chase. If that was removed the movie would have been finished in half of its original time.
Renata
says
you will need to concentrate at times, plenty of action. story jumps all over the place. loved the motorcycle chase scenes
oscarfoxtrot
says
They should have stopped at the last Bourne film. This one owed parts of its plot to several previous movies - elements of "Charlie" (AKA Flowers For Algernon) and the first two Terminator movies were in this film. The two leads were good, in the limited roles they were given, and thank goodness there wasn't the obligatory porking scene, which is getting so old these days.
There are better action films than this one out there.
Art S.
says
Having not watched one of these Bourne films for some time, I found myself immediately struggling to remember the names of these CIA programs (and even what the hell happened to Matt Damon, no longer in the series). However, then I relaxed and realized, "Hey, none of that matters!". In fact, all this CIA genetic engineering mumbo-jumbo is just a loose structure on which to hang action sequences, some of which are pretty good. So, relax, forget about plot and character, and enjoy the visceral ride!
David Williams
says
Not a patch on Matt Damon"s Bourne
John S
says
Terrible. It hardly even resembles the earlier Bourne movies. Very very disappointing.
Ern Berry
says
Compared with the quality of the earlier Bourne movies, this falls way short in terms of sound, script, acting and direction. Some of the production values left a lot to be desired also. The suspense was OK, so I'm giving it 2 and a half.
Kaye
says
Great movie. Recommended.
Kate
says
I loved it. Renner had the perfect amounts of "toughness" and "gentleness". Hubby fell asleep in it as he's soo tired at the moment (not due to the movie), so I'm excited - I get to watch it again tonight with him. Yay.
JeffK
says
I recall that when ‘The Bourne Legacy’ was released it received lukewarm reviews. With that in mind, and being a fan of the original series, I was expecting this film to be a pale copy but not so. Ok Matt Damon is a hard act to follow but Jeremy Renner is no slouch in the performance department. His is a different protagonist to Bourne but nonetheless just as effective. The script demands concentration, especially when dealing with scenes interspersed from the last film of the original franchise but the story is imaginative and gives the opportunity for a second (maybe third) movie.
Kim
says
Fantastic action film, the best I've seen in years. Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner were a perfect combination. Excellent storyline and execution. A great movie!
Rene
says
Great film. Enjoyed it very much.
Jennifer
says
Fantastic! Loved it!!! A must to see!!!
ALM
says
This movie has the potential to be a good movie on its own, but to have this as a sequel film to Matt Damon's Bourne trilogy - i don't know. It just didn't work too well. There were moments of action, but way to much time trying to sell to the viewer that this the original trilogy was only one part of the story.
I think the movie goer got that point quite quickly, yet they still drowned the movie in restyled footage from the trilogy.
If they launched "The Bourne Legacy" from the trilogy and gave it is own scope, rather then the legacy being a leech and feeding off from the success of the original trilogy.
The ending of the film felt like the journey was just starting. Hopefully they do bring out a further film with Jeremy, and forget about about trying to get Matt to revive Jason Bourne (at least for now anyway).
Jeremy performed well as Aaron Cross.
Teresa
says
Cannot wait for the next film to be made, loved it :)
says
Bit hard getting used to a new Jason Bourne, but Jeremy Renner does a good job, the movie is fast paced and I really liked it and would recommend it to others.
Phillip
says
One Bourne movie too many
nick
says
All I can say is Kenny! Nice to see Shane Jacobson in a non Aussie film, otherwise a totally unnecessarysequel that is forgotten as soon as its watched. The car/bike chase at the end goes on forever.
sue
says
It was surprisingly good both my husband and I enjoyed the action
Paul
says
Fabulous. Go Alex!
Adam
says
Lacked pace ,story was far too complicated, no Bourne humor or no real suspence. Even the action was lacking in some way no WOW.
I guess the orginals are a very hard act to follow and the pressure got to this movie .
Bren
says
excellent movie one to watch
says
It has all the essential ingredients of the previous 3 movies.
Whilst Jeremy Renner did a good job in executing the role I felt there were a couple of disappointing things about his character. Firstly did they really need to select an actor that is a poor man's Matt Damon? Surely they could have selected someone who doesn't have the same hair, skin, eyes, height etc. Secondly, Aaron (Jeremy Renner) was significantly less intelligent then Jason Bourne. One of the cool things about Bourne was that he was quick thinking and was able to improvise solutions. Aaron attempts a couple of Bourne-type improvisations but just doesn't have that wow factor that Bourne was able to create.
Moving on to Ed Norton. I thought he was a poor choice for a retired army colonel involved in national security. They made some attempt to make him look old but he just didn't look like he fit the bill at all. He also seemed to have one facial expression throughout the entirety of the movie which didn't help.
I was disappointed there was no proper fight scenes between 2 agents or anyone. Any combat is relatively soft and the opponents pretty much just fall instantly.
Overall I would still recommend it. Particularly if you have enjoyed the previous 3 movies.
sal
says
Wicked movie loved it.
darthdorian
says
these are getting better.
if you are worried about matt not being in it, don't. the events of the last movie and this one run at the same time.. would have gotten 5 stars but the story line about the blues and greens was a bit stretched.
says
My husband and I couldn't make it past the first 20 minutes, we turned it off. It was so boring. Such a shame when the first three were brilliant.
says
It was ok, good action but not great.
Tiff
says
I'm a big fan of the Bourne Trilogy, and spy style movies in general, so I must admit I was a bit nervous that there was a Bourne movie without Matt Damon - changing the lead after a few movies is usually a bad sign. But I didn't expect it to be quite so bad. It was really boring, I fell asleep within the first half hour. My husband managed to stay awake, and he said it wasn't interesting to him either. Great series like this one need to end on a high, like The Bourne Ultimatum, but by making this one they've just dragged the story out past its use by date.
Cairo49
says
This just seemed like a stop-gap movie - either Matt Damon will come back on board and/or if there is enough interest in this one, then they will do a sequel. It just seemed to take great chunks from the first movie without adding anything new or interesting to the genre. There was only one real action scene and that just went on and on and on. I was expecting a lot more from this movie and was disappointed - very average. I like Jeremy Renner but he will have to do a lot better if there is a second one.
Kim
says
Great movie in the Bourne tradition, but was a bit disappointed by the end but has obviously left open for another.
GWH
says
As usual, GREAT movie. Thoroughly enjoyed this latest film in the Bourne series.
Im assuming by the ending that we are going to be treated to another.
Tinman
says
I agree with Gabe, the film was travelling along well and then suddenly the music swelled and the credits rolled, a shame really as I was just getting into it. Overall it was a decent flick and held up against the other Bourne films, the cast was great (including a great cameo from Shane Jacobson AKA "Kenny"), the plot and speed was good, it just would have been better if it was longer
Gabe
says
I loved all the Bourne movies so far. This how ever is a bit of a let down. At the end my wife and I were both looking t each other thinking "Was that it?!?!" There was lots of good action but it ends leaving you expecting more.
says
Jeremy Renner & Rachel Weisz give very impressive performances in the latest Bourne movie, and the chase scenes are great, but it feels like the Bourne franchise has run out of fresh ideas. I reallly enjoyed the earlier Bourne movies, and while this one segues well into that past and moved along at a good pace, the storyline lacked the punch of the early prequels, and this time I'm not hoping for a further instalment. Enjoyable, but forgettable.
Harlowe
says
I think the Bourne sequels have been one of the best, if not THE best, movie franchises ever. I was in doubt as to whether they could pull off any further movies without the man who was so intrinsic to them - Matt Damon. But I was very pleasantly surprised. Cleverly keeping familiar former cast members on the periphery, while introducing some compelling new ones (Ed Norton his usual superb self), this movie does deliver very well and it does so with a somewhat different 'tone' than the previous movies. It's familiar, and we do get the suspense with some incredible chase scenes (the motorbike chase is incredible), but Jeremy Renner brings his own shades of darkness and light to the table and Rachel Weiss brings a perfect measure to the drama without overacting. The ending once again, leaves us with future possibilities and I love how they have used to same closing theme music from Moby. Brilliant!
says
A good movie with plenty of cross-references to the real Bourne series.
It is however not in the same league as Matt Damon as Bourne.
It would have been more appropriate to create a 'spin-off' with a different title.
Interestingly the option has been left open for Matt Damon to reappear as Jason Bourne.
Johnson
says
A bit like Bond lite... plus it has the longest chase scene in the history of movies (gets a bit ho-hum after the first 15 minutes). Normally I like Jeremy Renner, but he just seemed really awkward in this. Bring back Matt Damon.
says
Top. top film. Really well done! Has everything in it!