Movie Review: Bourne Legacy

As an action film, Bourne Legacy worked just fine. But having LOVED the Bourne trilogy, which starred Matt Damon, I left a little disappointed as I was consistently reminded of how amazing the first three films were.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy this film because it was actually quite entertaining. I found the story to be coherent, the characters reasonably well-defined and the writing fast-paced - almost to a fault. There were some parts that did drag a bit though and segments that could've worked better with some editing.

The sense of continuity the film established with the constant narrative shifts to the Bourne Ultimatum was actually pretty impressive. I liked that the movie used just enough reference from the previous film that made the connection a little less contrived. This may, however, be a problem for people who are not familiar with the series as they may struggle with the words tossed around like Treadstone and Blackbriar - terms that may only be understood by followers of the trilogy.

Of course, the action here didn't disappoint and possible right up Bourne's alley. I thought the action set-pieces were executed perfectly and most of the stunt work were pretty good. I admit, the Manila chase sequence was a bit too long for comfort that it began to lose impact after a while and the hand to hand choreography wasn't as visceral as compared to the other Bourne films, but that's just me nitpicking already.

As for the actors, I found most of them competent. Jeremy Renner managed to fill in for Matt Damon quite successfully. His character was a tad shallow, but Renner's charisma and sincerity somehow saved it. Rachel Weisz was believable and had a bigger on-screen presence compared to her contemporaries. Edward Norton, on the other hand, had less impact mostly because he was confined to being just a mission control, but still quite good.

One quibble I had with the film though was the abrupt ending. Granted that it hinted a sequel due to the number of unresolved plot and character issues, but I felt like the last few minutes of the film was an afterthought more than anything.

Bourne Legacy was, arguably, the weakest of all Bourne (technically) movies, but still a thoroughly engaging and a solid piece of entertainment. It's not as fun though to root for someone who's just running away as it is for someone looking to bring down a corrupt system.

RATING:

7.5/10