The Bourne Legacy Review

Five years ago, Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon concluded the Jason Bourne trilogy on a positive high, wrapping up all loose ends and providing worthy closure to the film adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s popular espionage thrillers. The series lives on with a new lead character and new stories to tell based on the ramifications of the rogue spy’s actions at the end of Ultimatum.

This new plotline focuses on Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) an elite agent just like Bourne who is forced to flee his own organisation when it orders the destruction and cover-up of project Treadstone, Blackbriar and all persons connected or associated with the operations; most of whom are murdered easily from poisoned pills. From the offset it’s clear that Cross is also one of these super agents as we first find him undergoing heavy training in the intense region of Alaska, climbing mountains alone and keeping pepped up on pills that fuel his physical prowess during the events of ‘’The Bourne Ultimatum’’. Upon finishing his training Cross narrowly avoids an assassination attempt ordered by Eric Byer (Edward Norton) and sets off to find sanctuary from the organisation that turned on him. In between this story Dr Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) is also plunged into a race for safety when a brainwashed colleague guns down her co-workers leaving her the sole survivor; her team had operated on the Cross before and the two’s paths eventually cross. At first many may think that the fourth entry in the long running series is sure to contain a generic plot, having little to nothing to do with its predecessors but far from the truth Legacy skilfully connects the completed plot with Cross’s story through use of older footage from the previous film such as the assassination of reporter Simon Ross in the London Underground, several references to Bourne aka David Webb throughout the film and many an appearance from accepted Bourne characters including Pamela Landy and Ezra Kramer. The audience is shown clearly how Bourne’s actions in the original trilogy affected the people in its successor which makes the new plotline easier to become immersed in, possibly even bringing those unfamiliar with the series up to speed in the process. Regardless of the change in characters and plotline, this is still a genuine Bourne film; the action usually cuts between Cross and Shearing travelling cross country to escape and Byer’s team working around the clock to catch the elusive duo and ensure that the operations remain anonymous with the public. While the plot does borrow several scenes from the previous films, namely the climatic motorbike chase in the final act of the flick, and the abrupt ending doesn’t do a possible new trilogy any favours, it does much to differentiate itself, mainly thanks to the protagonists well done performances.

And such performances these are from Renner and Weisz highlighting both the desperation of their situation as well as providing a significant layer of depth to their characters; Cross and Shearing are fleeing together for most of the movie and their relationship is brilliantly conveyed from initial hostility through to subdued yet shining companionship. Both characters are also given equal screen time before their meeting which fully introduces the audience to their characters as to what they are currently and how the need to escape changes them over time. The film packs equal levels of action and character driven scenes, providing many successful opportunities for the protagonists to recover from their predicaments and shift the focus towards on-screen chemistry; both of which are done well, making the audience root for them the whole way through. Regretfully the same can’t be said for the villains standing against them, while the opening scenes of Legacy excellently explain his motivations for wanted Cross and Shearer dead, Eric Byer fails to make a lasting impact the way Noah Vosen did in the previous film; he spends practically the entire movie in the CIA headquarters in New York and never gets the chance to openly interact with the characters he is hunting which could lead some to believe he simply has a grudge against Cross rather than actual reasons for hunting him down. The agency Cross is part of also apparently has operatives all over the world but only in Manila in the film’s final act does an elite trained assassin (LARX-03 much like Desh Bouksani in the previous film) chase after the protagonists which reduces the tension somewhat in the action sequences beforehand. On the other hand the undercover assassins sent to assassinate Shearing at her house for the one scene they are present put across a great deal of sinister motives, showing no sympathy or remorse which ends up making them feel much more threatening and immediate than Norton could ever hope to be.

The action sequences in such a series must be filmed appropriately to ensure they are both viewable and effective and ‘’The Bourne Legacy’’ makes some minor improvements to the shaky camera based angles that plagued some areas of ‘’Ultimatum’’; the camera jerks about much less during the hand to hand fight sequences and in other scenes, such as the attack on Shearing’s house the camera draws to a halt, more effectively building the tension as a terrified Shearing takes cover in an upstairs room, her firearm pointing at the open door and waits for the assassins for instance. Other scenes such as the Manila factory sequence involving hundreds, possibly thousands of extras, allow a clear view of Renner and Weisz as they lose their pursuer in the crowds. The sound design composed by James Newton Howard also makes a similar impression, ditching the series traditional espionage theme set itself apart from the original trilogy while keeping Moby’s ‘’Extreme Ways’’ that ties to the series perfectly. Fast paced compositions kick in at all the right moments of tension, complimented well by the more sombre and calm pieces that highlight the characters relationship as well as the reflective music that plays whenever Cross thinks to his past, heightening the sense of mystery and overall interest.  

‘’The Bourne Legacy’’ may not reach the same heights as the three movies that preceded it but thanks to the deep relationship between Renner and Weisz’s characters and some genuinely tense chase sequences it proves that the franchise can expand beyond Damon’s exploits whilst being anything but an uninspired cash in. 

Rating: 3/5 Stars