The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Legacy

Directed by Tony Gilroy

Not a groundbreaking action movie but certainly nothing to scoff at, The Bourne Legacy has its faults, and while not as compelling as the Matt Damon films, is still often quite entertaining and features strong performances.

Jeremy Renner may have been a better choice for the lead than Matt Damon was for the original trilogy, but the movie surrounding him is definitely inferior. As an actor, Renner has proven himself to be quite effective, and is certainly one of the best action stars currently in the business. With good support from Weisz, Norton and the rest of the cast, it's not the acting that's the problem here. Though none of the actors stand out much, the acting in this movie is one of this film's stronger suits.

The action scenes are few and far between, but when they do arrive, the action is so up-close and blurry that it becomes hard to distinguish what is happening, and to whom. One particular chase sequence near the end of the film was so blurry, out-of-focus and shaky, I wound up confused and bewildered, as well as the victim of a considerable migraine. This isn't the kind of movie that requires sweeping cinematography or majestic imagery, but it would have certainly been less headache-inducing had it been done more in that style.

In order for a large portion of this movie to make any sense whatsoever, you will have to have seen most, if not all, of the original Bourne movies. This is both a good and a bad thing. For fans of the original series, this may be an adequate follow-up to the story, as it takes its own path while still remaining true to the facts already covered in the trilogy. But for new viewers, most of the events taking place may be a blur due to a general lack of explanation. Take my advice and be sure to watch the original trilogy before attempting to sit through this. Otherwise you'll probably not get too much out of this movie story-wise.

This movie is alarmingly erratic. It goes from slow to fast, and then back again without a moment's hesitation, often leaving you feeling either overwhelmed or underwhelmed. It's almost always either too much or too little. I wouldn't say this is a particularly good movie, but it definitely wasn't bad (my rating should be evidence of that). What it really needed was an ending. Instead of leaving any kind of lasting impression, I felt myself asking, "wait, that's it?"