The Bourne Identity 4 - Bourne Legacy

Release :

2012-08-08

Runtime :

120 min.

Genre :

Action, Thriller

Production :

Universal Pictures, Dentsu, Relativity Media, Kennedy/Marshall Company, The, Captivate Entertainment

Cast :

Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Scott Glenn, Stacy Keach, Joan Allen, Donna Murphy, Albert Finney, Michael Chernus, Oscar Isaac, Corey Stoll, David Strathairn, Michael Papajohn, Dennis Boutsikaris, Sheena Colette, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Corey Johnson, Jennifer Kim, Elizabeth Marvel, Shane Jacobson, Page Leong, Robert Christopher Riley, Zeljko Ivanek, Lou Veloso, Ruby Ruiz, Madeleine Nicolas, Antonette Garcia, Joel Torre, John Arcilla, Faye Yvette McQueen, Rachel Black

Crew :

Frank Marshall, Tony Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Eric Van Lustbader, Patrick Crowley, James Newton Howard, Ellen Chenoweth, Stephen H. Carter, Shay Cunliffe, Charlie Campbell, Molly Hughes, John Gilroy, Henry Morrison, Jennifer Fox, Robert Elswit, Kevin Thompson, Leslie E. Rollins, Felicity Bowring, Diana Burton, Wanjin Choi, David Dowling, Erwin Arenas, Wendy M. Craig, Kate Edwards, Jeffrey Fayle, Cheryl Kilbourne-Kimpton, Nathan J. Busch II, Jerry DeCarlo, Chris Harrison-Glimsdale, Kathe Swanson, Sunday Englis, Joanne Jacobsen, Björn Rehbein, Sue Wyburgh, Junsik Park, Joseph Santos, Jennifer Lane, Sheyam Ghieth, W. Steven Graham, Deborah Jensen, Hinju Kim, Marion Kolsby, Doug Anderson, Yong Xi Chen, Christopher Hébel, Lia Lorms, Jordan Lovelace, Roman Lystvak, Kosyo Minchev, Danh Nguyen, Charles R. Suter, Christopher Weiser, Ken Nelson, Philip Canfield, Per Hallberg, Christopher Assells, Peter Staubli, John C. Stuver, Chris Hogan, Dino Dimuro, William R. Dean, Dan Hegeman, David Parker, John T. Cucci, Dan O'Connell, Chris Jargo, Kent Blocher, Abi Cadogan, Vanessa Cheung, Benjamin Chua, Hal Couzens, Scott M. Davids, Michael Bruce Ellis, John Heller, Dhuha Isa, Kieran Nicholas, Gary Nolin, Tracey Leadbetter, Seth Kleinberg, Dan Bradley, Chris O'Hara, Hans Bjerno, Sean M. Harding, Andrew Rowlands, Mary Cybulski, Cory Geryak, Barry Idoine, Burton 'Joe' Kuchera, Pepito Mirador Jr., James W. Harrison III, Nick Monton, Nic Ratner, Ravi Dube, Sylvia Nablo, Coleman Robinson, Cecile Vitan, Dianne Dreyer, Susan Hegarty, Dennis Penney, Julie Kuehndorf, Nikolo Juban, Nicole Eckenroad

Vote Average:

5.9 Count: 2067

Overview 

The fourth installment of the highly successful Bourne series sidelines main character Jason Bourne in order to focus on a fellow estranged assassin Aaron Cross. The story centers on new CIA operative, Aaron Cross as he experiences life-or-death stakes that have been triggered by the previous actions of Jason Bourne.

Keyword :

assassin, wolf, maryland, suicide by gunshot, rooftop, exploding house, laptop, tracking device, fake id, seoul south korea, pharmaceutical lab, government conspiracy, roof chase, manila philippines, hunted, false passport, alberta canada, lieutenant general

Video Trailer :

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The Bourne Identity 4 - Bourne Legacy Synopsis :

With very little connection to the first three movies, the storytelling in "The Bourne Legacy" is hollow, the action is sparse, and does not truly follow the legacy left by its predecessor. I believe Jeremy Renner is fully capable of taking over the franchise so closely associated with Matt Damon. The fans of the Bourne trilogy that followed the adventures of Jason Bourne still can't get over the fact that their hero is gone and has been replaced by Renner, a very suitable leading man, physically and emotionally. Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton added gleaming support to the rather lackluster structure of the film, screenplay-wise.
Robert Elswit's arresting cinematography and John Gilroy's smart editing makes the film look first-rate. The chase scene in Manila is reminiscent to the iconic Moscow car chase scene in "The Bourne Supremacy." Though the motorcycle chase sequence shot in our busy streets will never be able to equal the adrenaline rush elicited by the first three films, it's fair to say that it comes close. The rest of the action scenes were solid and not overdone.

The script was infused with jargon and sufficient action to divert the viewers from the movie's lack of soul. Even the great performances by Renner, Weisz, and Norton couldn't save the movie's thin plot and bleak conclusion. The ending was unappealing and abrupt it left most viewers at a loss. You can easily paint the disappointment etched in their faces as they hesitantly stood up from their seats and slowly left the theater. There are many questions left unanswered, such as why Outcome chose the Philippines as its laboratory for the sought-after pills. If the writers' intention is to leave room for future vicissitudes in the franchise's continuity, then it makes for a lame excuse. The idea alone of making a Bourne movie without Jason Bourne is ludicrous. In this respect, the fimmakers have succeeded in making the Bourne fans feel cheated and the new audience underwhelmed for trying to force a puzzle piece that just doesn't fit.

For something so highly anticipated and over-hyped, "The Bourne Legacy" is a huge letdown. I gave this movie a 7/10 just because 25% of it was shot in Manila (a preposterous judgment for an equally absurd film). In the previous films it is the story of Bourne's quest for identity/redemption that drives the narrative. With the carefully constructed development of the Bourne character you "empathise" for Bourne. He is an "innocent" who doesn't kill unless he has too. As good as Renner is as an actor, this movie didn't gel like the others which Is a director/script problem. Aaron Cross is simply not a compelling character. Gilroy might have written the screen play for the other movies, but previous director Paul Greengrass does a far superior job in directing both the action and plot elements. His work is sorely missed in this movie.

Other problems abound throughout the movie. Where are Pamela Landy and Noah Volson? Tacked on the end as a cheap after thought so that there can be a sequel. The ending feels odd as there's no real resolution. One of the most powerful elements in the previous films was the music; the clear musical 'themes' in the previous movies for each character/scenario instantly conveyed both plot and gave the audience an emotional connection with narrative. I would have expected to hear echoes of these themes in a movie claiming to be a "legacy" of the previous movies - but not one of these is present which I found really disappointing.

This movie had big shoes to fill ... and didn't. It feels like a studio trying to cash-in on the success of the previous movies. Where do i start with this movie, I have very mixed feelings about it. If judged by the standards of the previous Bourne movies then it is at best mediocre and thats probably being a bit too generous. If judged on its own and ignoring its predecessors then it's actually pretty OK. Lets start with the positives. The action scenes are for the most part well shot and edited. The main chase scenes suffers from a few too many close up shots and quick cuts which can make it a bit hard to tell exactly what's happening but overall it's pretty good.

Jeremy Renner is another plus, he does an excellent job with a very poor script and tries his best to bring some life to the role. By far the biggest plus point of the movie is Rachel Weisz who does an excellent job as the damsel in distress and is the most believable character in the entire film. Now for the negatives. The story line is awful, set to occur simultaneously with the events of the other Bourne movies Ed Nortons character tries to shut down all the various operations with super spies which led to the creation of Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross(Renner) in case the public becomes aware these programs exist. He then tries to kill all the agents and succeeds apart from Renner obviously.

This is where the problems start as Renner then has no other mission apart from scoring more of the drugs he needs to keep himself pumped up. He has nothing to discover or learn about himself or why this is happening and his character never develops. He doesn't try to find out who is responsible or why. He still has all his memories so there's nothing for him to learn and there are a series of pointless flashbacks to his previous life which tell us absolutely nothing. The pace is very slow and takes ages to get going and when it does the chase lacks the suspense and sense of danger that made the previous Bourne films such a thrill. There is also no resolution its like the chase ends and then so does the film, I'm not sure if this is so it can lead into a sequel but Renner and Weisz are just sailing off into the sunset having accomplished nothing more then scoring his drugs, which then why does he need if he's just going to sail off and retire. Which makes the whole film seem very pointless and like a complete waste of time.

By far the biggest plot whole which is completely inexplicable is that after Renner scores his drugs Norton sends another super spy to kill him. Fine you'd say, every movie needs an equally tough baddie to challenge the hero but they'd just killed off every other super spy and only Renner survived so how is this other guy suddenly available for work. So overall not bad if you just want to watch some action and good chases but let down horribly by a poor script, storyline and complete lack of character development and purpose. A poor addition to the franchise and clearly released purely for an easy buck and not because there is anything to add the Bourne storyline.