Review of The Bourne Legacy (2012) by Quincytheodore — 07 Sep 2012

More aptly named "The Bourne Without Bourne", it's quite surprisingly that Legacy manages to use the franchise's formula to good use. It does suffer slight reduction to the pace, which was initially blinding fast, into a more exposition-filled story. The writers keep the plot from derailing off the original three and using a parallel story of another burned agent in a grander scheme affected by the previous events. Acting by Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz are superb and action is definitely there to meet blockbuster demand, it only lacks the fast cut of its predecessor and the titular hero.

Jeremy Renner is a definite great choice for Aaron Cross, the new marked agent. He looks lively compared to the others rigid agents, it humanizes him and makes him more natural without compromising the resourcefulness of the character. The franchise always uses an agent in distress style and it stays true with Aaron's story, although he leans more on frantic attempt for self-preservation rather cold calculating and vengeful motive. Even though the story deems him a bit flawed, that actually makes him more sympathetic to the audience.

Rachel Weisz as Dr. Shering delivers a spledid performance. She is convincing on her struggle as if she's doing a ballet piece on the verge of mental breakdown. She appears as strong as an ordinary person would be, but in the same time frail in the face of trained killers. The story gives much time to her, understandably so. This might hampers the pace a bit, but considering her quality acting, it's a safe investment. Her role's attitude switches from methodically calculating for the sake of survival to slowly growing affectionate towards her savior.

Action is good, true to grimy Bourne stunt, it has plenty of chases and fights, mostly on densely populated area. I like the fact they use real stunt rather than CG, because it gives more organic motion and danger to it, especially the scenes in South East Asia. The editing is still lightning fast, but a bit slower and more concentrated this time around. The main concern is it has lesser content than the previous Bourne titles. With each of them packing a hefty amount of plot and action, Bourne Legacy feels only half of those. It doesn't give satisfying end, as I expect there might be more sequel(s) to it.

Regardless of not reaching the height of previous endeavors, which is ironic since the main allure somewhat lies in the title, Bourne Legacy is still an enjoyable espionage thriller.