Bourne Legacy Movie Review

Not going to lie, when I first heard that another Bourne movie was being made and Matt Damon (IE Jason Bourne) was not going to be in it, I cringed. Flashbacks of Van Wilder 2: Rise of Taj immediately swept through my mind. Ya, we all know how that one turned out...

Now after seeing it this past weekend, I feel it worked. The passing of the mantle, if you will, wasn't as painful as I initially thought. And Jeremy Renner definitely did the franchise justice.

Having said that, I'm going to the the movie an overall rating of 7.8.

I was kinda bummed that the movie ended so suddenly, but not as bummed as most people were. Two things in particular bugged me about the movie: 1. no 'final' battle or confrontation with the suits and 2 the lack of other 'assets' to confront hero ( in this case Aaron Cross)

I was totally expecting Aaron Cross to confront Ed Norton's character (Eric Byer) at some point. Heck, he spent the entire movie trying to find him and they never even got to meet face-to-face. Something similar to the end of Bourne Ultimatum when Jason Bourne confronted Pam Landy would have been cool and at least validated Ed Norton's effort in tracking down Aaron Cross.

Also in the previous films, Jason confronted other assets multiple times thoughout a move. Honestly, the fights between Jason Bourne and the other operatives are my favorite parts of the movie. You assume they've all had similar training, so Bourne winning shouldn't be assumed. That's what, for me, made the fights more exciting. But in this movie, he only fought one other operative.

Having rating it a 7.8, let me highlight some on my positives.

Pace. I thought the pace of this movie was great. It's a 2 hour and 15 minute film, and there's not alot of movies out there this long that you're bummed that it ended so abruptly. So kudos to Tony Kilroy (his first Bourne film directed, having written the screenplays for all the Bourne's) and editor (also his brother) John Gilroy for making the Bourne Legacy a pleasant watch.

Direction and Cast. I thought every actor cast fit the movie well. Jeremy Renner as the rebellious asset asking lots and lots of questions and never second guessing his instincts is spot on as Aaron Cross. Rachel Weisz as the ignorant chemist trying to save her country, gave a believable and heartfelt performance, especially following the scenes right after her entire lab was murdered. Stacy Keach and Ed Norton, as the 'suits' (as I call them) gave very motivating performances and used their intelligence and wit to track down Aaron Cross.

I already mentioned, this is Tony's first Bourne film he's directed. Having wrote the screenplays for the entire franchise, he's definitely qualified, to at least take a crack at directing a Bourne film. I thought he did a fine job. All scenes drove us into the next ones. Like I said before, only the ending left me feeling the movie shouldn't have ended when it did.

Location. The scenes in the Phillipines were great. I've never been there, but from the shots, I left feeling it's a very lively place full of hustle and bustle. I definitely don't take for granted, that watching movies shot in other countries, is also a form of virtual traveling from the comfort of my theater seat.

I'm glad I saw this film in the theater, though I won't be seeing it again. Then it comes out on blu-ray and rental, I'll have to re-evaluate whether or not to make the transaction. For frame of reference, I own the first 3 movies.