The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Universal Pictures

Right from the start, high expectations were put onto The Bourne Legacy because the original trilogy with Matt Damon defined this past decade of action movies. Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne character doesn’t make an appearance this time but his presence is felt. The Bourne Legacy deals with the fall-out from the secret government projects which created Bourne and other secret agents like him. Several supporting characters from previous movie scramble around to cover up their secret doings, which are threatened to be exposed.

Damon portrayed a great every-man who learns he has enhanced abilities, however this time Jeremy Renner’s character is shown to have those same abilities right from the movie’s opening sequence. Perhaps that makes him harder to relate to, since he’s super-human and also super handsome. Though there is a scene later that remedies this and tries to humanize Renner. I actually enjoy Jeremy Renner as an action movie star and perhaps Hollywood does too, since he’s now a cast member of 3 recent franchises; Mission: Impossible, The Avengers, and the Jason Bourne series.

What is most enjoyable about the Bourne series is that each movie has its own flavor. While they’re all within the action genre, each movie was given a distinct look. The Bourne Legacy is more of a stream-lined action thriller than a spy movie. This movie has its share of stunts and when the climax features a motorcycle chase, I thought these superhuman spies were almost like Terminators; at that moment Jeremy Renner is even shown with spiked hair, while wearing a leather jacket and dark shades. Maybe that was an intended coincidence, though these chases always feature many coincidences, such as vehicles in action movies that never run out of gas.

I really enjoyed The Bourne Legacy as much as the previous movies, though if this is the ending to the series, I think it went out on the right note.