MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (8/10/12): THE BOURNE LEGACY
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Dennis Boutsikaris, Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac, Louis Ozawa Changchien and Željko Ivanek
WRITER(S): Tony & Dan Gilroy (screenplay); Tony Gilroy (story); inspired by the Bourne series created by Robert Ludlum
DIRECTOR: Tony Gilroy
WEB SITE: http://www.thebournelegacy.com
THE PLOT: Following the events of the previous films in the Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Legacy stars Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, one of six agents in a program simply known as "Outcome." Unlike the CIA's Treadstone program that birthed Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, seen here only in photos), Outcome agents have been developed and trained for the Department of Defense to use as they see fit.
Once Bourne's story starts to become public, however, the Outcome agents - who have been trained for long, solitary assignments fueled by enhanced Treadstone science - become liabilities for Colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton). You see, it was Byer that apparently built both the Treadstone and Outcome programs and the CIA's failure to contain Jason Bourne will put him at risk ... Unless he can kill all the Outcome agents - like Aaron - before they are discovered.
That's also bad news for scientists like Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) who helped developed the "blues and greenies" Aaron has become so fond of ... Because if Byer is going to take care of all his loose ends, that means taking care of all the loose ends if you know what I mean.
Let the games begin.
Once Bourne's story starts to become public, however, the Outcome agents - who have been trained for long, solitary assignments fueled by enhanced Treadstone science - become liabilities for Colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton). You see, it was Byer that apparently built both the Treadstone and Outcome programs and the CIA's failure to contain Jason Bourne will put him at risk ... Unless he can kill all the Outcome agents - like Aaron - before they are discovered.
That's also bad news for scientists like Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) who helped developed the "blues and greenies" Aaron has become so fond of ... Because if Byer is going to take care of all his loose ends, that means taking care of all the loose ends if you know what I mean.
Let the games begin.
THE TAKE: I'm going to let you in on a little dirty secret: I hate reviewing what I consider to be polarizing films. Not because I fear retribution from the general public that decides whether or not to see a film based on my commentary (I mean, that is the point of this whole thing is to say something and stand by it!). No, my dislike of writing about them is because when you have a film that does some things very well and others not so much, it's a bit harder to predict where each individual reader will fall on which side of the debate since I see validation in both sides.
Thus, if you haven't picked up on this fact as of yet, The Bourne Legacy is a polarizing film because it will ultimately force you to answer one question: Is a different story that is ultimately more of the same worth your time and money. The answer in this case is ... Maybe, maybe not.
Assuming you watched the Bourne trilogy that preceded this fourth installment, you likely recall how the films packed in a strong mix of fraught, intense action, continuous plot twists and turns ... Not to mention a lead actor who owned every facet of his character where you identified and rooted for him as he unraveled a massive conspiracy spanning several continents? Well, if not, you will quickly seeing Legacy because Tony Gilroy - who not only co-wrote the previous trilogy also co-wrote and directed this one (replacing previous director Paul Greengrass) - repeats the formula here.
Thus, lies the problem: After watching three such similar adventures, the fourth film is more or less exactly what original star Matt Damon joked it would become. (For those with short attention spans and/or a lack of patience, skip ahead to the 5:30 mark. And yes, I'm making you click the link if you want to know what this sentence means.)
Look, Legacy isn't a bad movie ... But in much the same fashion The Hangover II just said "Hey, let's do all the same things we did in the first one, just in a different country this time," so does this one with different characters. This fourth installment simply swaps out its key characters - the hero (Bourne), his persuers Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and Pam Landy (Joan Allen) and the female who helps him, Nicolette Parsons (Julia Stiles) - for new ones. Renner is fine as Cross, but he's just Bourne part II.
Weisz is a very convincing damsel in distress ... Then again, Stiles wasn't bad as the woman who went from being conflicted about him to helping him, either. And Norton is just a more determined version of Strathairn with Stacey Keach adding a veteran hard-ass vibe as Admiral Mark Turso, Byer’s chief advisor and link to the Pentagon. (Dennis Boutsikaris is kind of just there as the worrisome CEO of the big pharmacy company that produced the chemicals that resulted in the enhanced Outcome agents.)
Continuing on a Bourne tradition, there's also a "major" assassin throw in for good measure and while the sequence is blistering with speed, even it's not enough to distract you from a simple fact: You are watching the same story you've seen. At least with the original trilogy, there was the a journey with a definite start, middle and end; with Legacy, all you're getting is ANOTHER AGENT GOING THROUGH THE EXACT SAME THING AS BOURNE. If that's all there is to the story, you could take any Treadstone/Outcome agent and make movies about every single one of them. It's not like it was before when you didn't know what was happening and why - you know it all now ... Do you wish to see it again?
Whether or not you wish to watch all of those stories is what ultimately decide how much of a Legacy this Bourne-less installment you enjoy.
Thus, if you haven't picked up on this fact as of yet, The Bourne Legacy is a polarizing film because it will ultimately force you to answer one question: Is a different story that is ultimately more of the same worth your time and money. The answer in this case is ... Maybe, maybe not.
Assuming you watched the Bourne trilogy that preceded this fourth installment, you likely recall how the films packed in a strong mix of fraught, intense action, continuous plot twists and turns ... Not to mention a lead actor who owned every facet of his character where you identified and rooted for him as he unraveled a massive conspiracy spanning several continents? Well, if not, you will quickly seeing Legacy because Tony Gilroy - who not only co-wrote the previous trilogy also co-wrote and directed this one (replacing previous director Paul Greengrass) - repeats the formula here.
Thus, lies the problem: After watching three such similar adventures, the fourth film is more or less exactly what original star Matt Damon joked it would become. (For those with short attention spans and/or a lack of patience, skip ahead to the 5:30 mark. And yes, I'm making you click the link if you want to know what this sentence means.)
Look, Legacy isn't a bad movie ... But in much the same fashion The Hangover II just said "Hey, let's do all the same things we did in the first one, just in a different country this time," so does this one with different characters. This fourth installment simply swaps out its key characters - the hero (Bourne), his persuers Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and Pam Landy (Joan Allen) and the female who helps him, Nicolette Parsons (Julia Stiles) - for new ones. Renner is fine as Cross, but he's just Bourne part II.
Weisz is a very convincing damsel in distress ... Then again, Stiles wasn't bad as the woman who went from being conflicted about him to helping him, either. And Norton is just a more determined version of Strathairn with Stacey Keach adding a veteran hard-ass vibe as Admiral Mark Turso, Byer’s chief advisor and link to the Pentagon. (Dennis Boutsikaris is kind of just there as the worrisome CEO of the big pharmacy company that produced the chemicals that resulted in the enhanced Outcome agents.)
Continuing on a Bourne tradition, there's also a "major" assassin throw in for good measure and while the sequence is blistering with speed, even it's not enough to distract you from a simple fact: You are watching the same story you've seen. At least with the original trilogy, there was the a journey with a definite start, middle and end; with Legacy, all you're getting is ANOTHER AGENT GOING THROUGH THE EXACT SAME THING AS BOURNE. If that's all there is to the story, you could take any Treadstone/Outcome agent and make movies about every single one of them. It's not like it was before when you didn't know what was happening and why - you know it all now ... Do you wish to see it again?
Whether or not you wish to watch all of those stories is what ultimately decide how much of a Legacy this Bourne-less installment you enjoy.
PARTING SHOT: A solid action film sure to satisfy those who crave espionage and high speed chases, the main problem with The Bourne Legacy is one its creators failed to resolve: Coming up with something that doesn't feel like a rehash of the legacy of the three films preceding it.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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