Jeremy Renner begins a new chapter in the franchise Matt Damon left behind with The Bourne Legacy, an unremarkable follow-up to the popular action series.
by Maggie Pehanick
Jeremy Renner begins a new chapter in the franchise Matt Damon left behind with The Bourne Legacy, an unremarkable follow-up to the popular action series. This installment picks up somewhere in the middle of 2007's The Bourne Supremacy and introduces new hero Aaron Cross (Renner). Though Jason and Aaron's paths don't cross, Jason's presence is riddled throughout the film. A couple of familiar characters make brief appearances, but for the most part, The Bourne Legacy showcases an entirely new cast. Writer/director Tony Gilroy is also new to directing the Bourne series (though he wrote the screenplays for the first three) and seems to be attempting to capture the same frantic energy of the prior films, but instead he falls flat, strapped with snooze-inducing material and a story that takes way too long to get to the point.
Like Jason, Aaron is part of a top-secret government program, but is left out to dry when it gets shut down. Agents start dropping like flies all over the globe, all except Aaron, who is isolated on some "bullsh*t scavenger hunt" in the mountains. He realizes the mission he's on is no longer routine and life is in danger shortly after a missile destroys his cabin. Unfortunately, Aaron can't sever ties with the agency just yet; he needs the mysterious strength-building pills that its pretty scientist Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) has been supplying him with. The fact that we never find out what will happen to Aaron if he fails to take these pills is just one of the issues I have with this movie. To find out what else I thought, just keep reading.
