Engaging legacy

The Bourne trilogy may have not been as historical as the Bond movies, but they still put together all the right ingredients of action, spying and chaos – everything needed for a secret agent film.

And with the films’ successes, it came as no surprise that a fourth instalment would be introduced. The Bourne Legacy, which is neither a sequel nor a reboot, is not only standing in a shadow, dwarfed by the three previous box office hits, but it was also missing something vital … Bourne!

How can a Bourne movie be made without Bourne himself? I’ll tell you how … by replacing him with Jeremy Renner and sticking with the cash cow of a title. But still, some would say it’s like a Shrek movie, without the big green ogre.

This time around the story focuses on Aaron Cross (Renner), who we are introduced to as a mountain man on a training course in Alaska, dealing with the cold climate and shooting down automated planes.

Cross is a genetically-enhanced operative in a secret programme called Outcome, which enhances subjects in mind and body as long as they take the secret green and blue pills supplied by the CIA.

Meanwhile, the actions of Jason Bourne’s attack on the CIA in the previous film causes them to execute countless number of field agents, including Cross. He miraculously escapes death but is running low on his magic pills.

Consequently, he seeks out another CIA purge target, scientist Dr Marta Shearing (Weisz) in an attempt to find more medication.

They both find themselves on the run together and without the drugs, they don’t stand a chance against the CIA’s ruthless attempt at killing them both.

Anyone who hasn’t seen the films starring Matt Damon as Bourne will find themselves lost throughout and wishing they had prepared beforehand. Jason Bourne is mentioned all the way through as if it were common knowledge. And even though I had watched the Bourne movies, I still don’t remember the storylines or specific characters from five years ago to connect the dots.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad this story wasn’t a repeat of the other films and it was never boring, but maybe refreshing the audiences’ memory would have made things clearer. However, the countless fight scenes, things blowing up and the odd connection between Cross and Marta left the audience engaged. Yes, I enjoyed the movie, but I will still argue that a lot of it was unnecessary, especially the motorbike scene.

In addition, it was a shame to see one of my favourite actors, Edward Norton, going grey and tired. No wonder he was only seen for about 15 minutes.

Having said that, Renner gave the same balance of compassion and ruthlessness that fans loved about the Bourne character. His action scenes were exciting to watch and he gave an excellent performance, including one of the best scenes involving a wolf, blood and a fight!

The Bourne Legacy does have some great acting and intense action, but I really hope Gilroy doesn’t continue to milk the franchise. Before you know it, we’ll be watching The Bourne’s Children.

*Showing in Cineco, Seef II, Saar Cineplex, Al Jazeera Cineplex