Review of The Bourne Legacy (2012) by Majfauxpas — 18 Aug 2012

'Legacy' is more of an action thriller than 'Identity' or 'Supremacy', but only because Bourne has already done most of the footwork for us. Less thought, more action this time around, but also more talking.

Enter Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner, who are both very good at talking, and look good doing it. On screen, their characters describe perfectly the world they are in, even though it seems they don't know who or where they are, or even what they are doing. Typical Bourne... it's entertaining to see characters discover themselves on screen. But, with two characters, the dynamics are less internal and more about dialog. Lots of dialog.

Eventually, they ask each other the right questions, and find that they each hold the key to the other's survival. They form an inseparable, if imperfect, team, so near to total disaster and death, that any mistake would normally prove fatal, but thank God for fiction, right? Many bullets are dodged but every bullet the hero fires hits. Disasters are averted by causing preemptive disasters. Continuing the Bourne themes of running, shooting, and asking too many questions, this film follows in the tradition of its predecessors.

The shortcut of using pre-existing sequences and characters is both a boon and a bane; time is saved and newcomers are put on the fast track to understanding the plot, but previous viewers and fans will recognize sequences they've already seen and wonder why there isn't a better way. Sure, the stories happen simultaneously, and the flashbacks help show that the new film's time line coincides with past films', but it feels like someone was cheating when they did this. Shouldn't there be new material, artfully blended into the background to give the desired impression (the carved name was perfect), instead of stock footage? Shouldn't Bourne be hinted at, instead of flashed on screen? Honestly, 100% of the re-used footage needed to be left out. And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, this film is not getting top reviews.