The Bourne Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum, and now Legacy. At this point, it’s like slipping on an old pair of comfy shoes.
This fourth installment in the spy chronicle picks up right where the third one left off. We meet some new players, Eric Byer, played by my crush Edward Norton, and his various higher-ups/coworkers including Stacy Keach and Donna Murphy, all hard at work at the CIA playing CYA, attempting to contain the blight of Treadstone and take out any remaining operatives. Intro one of said operatives, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner—the new soles on that old pair of comfy shoes). While Cross is off on a training mission in a snowy wasteland*, Byer et al. attempt to kill him but fail** and Cross goes on the run (OTR). Not a big fan of leaving any stone unturned, but huge fans of overkill, Byer n’ Bunch also go after the entire medical staff who worked on the Treadstoners, including Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). She’s forced to join Cross OTR. Posse Byer relentlessly pursues them, resulting in intense fight scenes and spectacular foot/car/motorcycle chases in various locations.
(**Really, would-be spy-killers? We haven’t learned by now to confirm that Treadstonites have actually kicked the bucket? I mean, Jason Bourne was presumed dead like 18 times.
*During these scenes, I was sooooooo reminded of The Grey. [
My review.] There’s a pack of wolves; plus, bearded Renner totally looks like bearded Liam Neeson.)
Like me, I know you probably balked when you first saw the non-Matt Damon Bourne preview. But rest assured, Renner carries the torch quite well. After S.W.A.T., The Avengers, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, we all knew he had action-movie chops, but Legacy makes it official: a new action star is Bourne. (Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.) A word about the fight scenes: awesome. The science-type stuff Shearing and her colleagues were doing to the Treadstonaries is a bit complicated, something about viral mapping and chromosome alterations, but one of the end results, enhanced physical abilities, is very apparent every time Cross beats the almighty bejesus out of one, two, three guys at a time.
Renner and Weisz are great together on screen. Much like Jason and Marie in the first movie, the characters are thrown together because of difficult circumstances, disliking each other in the beginning but eventually warming. (Alas, no hot sex scenes, but we do get some shirtless Renner. High five, ladies!) The acting is superb across the board. Norton radiates his usual focused intensity. (By the way, if you haven’t seen him in 2006’s The Illusionist, you should.) Even the minor players make an impression. Case in point: Louis Ozawa Changchien, playing an unnamed agent who never speaks a word as he pursues Shearing and Cross all over Manila with silent, intense ruthlessness. (Movie nerd cred: when I saw Louis, I mentally yelled, “That’s that guy from Predators!” *pats self on back*)
Yes, the film has flaws: the beginning is a bit slow; some of the motorcycle acrobatics are a bit unbelievable. And the ending doesn’t really resolve anything—but you know they totally did that on purpose. To set up The Bourne Conundrum, Redemption, Awakening, Enigma …
