OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug 10, 2012 — When Matt Damon said, “No thanks,” to doing another Jason Bourne movie, it looked like the franchise was dead. But whoever said you need the title character to continue making sequels?
Instead of Damon, Bourne movie makers go to the ‘go-to-guy known for adding life into action franchises, Jeremy Renner (Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol).
The poster and the trailer say, “There was never just one.” That’s the idea for the latest Bourne movie “The Bourne Legacy.”
Legacy is truly the fourth in the franchise. It’s not a reboot or a spin-off. It picks up right where “The Bourne Supremacy” left off filling in some gaps in the story.
Renner’s character is a Bourne type that was in the same project. He is a highly trained weapon that sustains his heightened brain and muscle off of daily meds.
Lots of Bourne references are made, and more secret mischief goes down meaning only one thing: Time to kill everybody associated with it. But wouldn’t you know it, Renner’s character is the only one to escape, and now he must find out the truth.
Enter Dr. Marta Shearing played by Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardner) who was involved in administering the medication and other medical procedures. She has also survived the purge. Together they have to get to the bottom of this.
Renner and Weisz are good (when are they not?), but the movie is clearly the fourth best of the series. They just aren’t on par with the original three. There are some pretty good chase and action scenes. A little more back story was filled in, and there are enough Jason Bourne references to make you believe that there is a chance that Damon would agree to be in a future sequel with Renner.
There are some plot holes, like if Renner’s character is reliant on these meds, and he is part of the same program as Jason Bourne, why wasn’t Bourne on meds?
Also, they introduce the character LARX #3 who has a great backstory. Tests off the charts, has no emotions and doesn’t really feel pain. The perfect guy to take Renner down.
LARX #3 then does nothing but chase them on a motorcycle and is (spoiler alert) disposed of pretty easily. Seems like kind of a waste.
The movie is good and worth a viewing if you are a Bourne franchise fan, but it does not compare its predecessors.
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