It’s “Bourne” without Bourne. “The Bourne Legacy” is the fourth installment in the successful spy/action franchise, but for the first time Matt Damon is not in the picture. However, the film does pick-up where 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum” left off.
Jason Bourne is still alive (never seen, of course), but the bigger problem for the CIA is that investigative reporters are starting to uncover the truth about the secret operation the agency has been running. And there are hearings coming-up in which all those involved may have to testify. So the decision is made by the creator of the “superspy” program (played by Edward Norton) to shut-down the programs and kill-off all of the field agents and the scientists who worked in the labs where the agents were turned into superspies.
However agent number 5, named Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), refuses to go down without a fight. He realizes he’s now a target, but he also needs the special medication given to the agents that gives them the strength and intelligence to be superhuman.
So Cross tracks-down one of the scientists (Rachel Weisz) who works in the lab where the meds are handed-out. She realizes she’s also a target so these two team-up and spend the last half of the movie on the run trying to keep each other alive.
“The Bourne Legacy” is 2 hours and 15 minutes. The film’s biggest problem is that it’s too talky and there’s not enough action. There are long stretches of dialogue and plot development and they slow things down considerably. There are a couple of showcase action scenes that are well designed and intense. They definitely perk up the story. But there’s way too many scenes of Norton standing around with others from his team looking at monitors while running the search operation for Cross from thousands of miles away.
Things do get a little more interesting in the second half once Renner and Weisz team-up. Renner is fine in the lead role, but doesn’t have the leading man presence of a Matt Damon. Weisz doesn’t put much energy into her role (but she does run a lot), and her scream of “AARON! RUN!” kicks-off a twenty minute chase scene towards the end of the film that is nicely staged but goes on a bit too long.
“The Bourne Legacy” is rated PG-13 for the action/violence. It’s appropriate for teens and up. If you’re looking for a fun, high octane action/thriller, this isn’t a good choice. If you’re a fan of the books or the other films, you’ll probably enjoy it.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “The Bourne Legacy” gets a C-.
The constant references to Jason Bourne throughout the film are simply to keep that character alive in the minds of moviegoers, in case producers want to try to bring him back at some point. After this so-so effort, getting Bourne/Damon back on board may be their only shot to keep this franchise alive.