The Bourne Legacy (DVD + Digital Copy + UV Copy)

The Bourne Legacy isn't a remake or reboot or rewhatever of the Bourne movies. It's a continuation of the series with a brand new lead actor and characters. Past events from previous films are mentioned and past characters, appearances from David Straithairn, Albert Finney and Joan Allen as their characters from the movies ensure continuity yet the whole film starts afresh with a new assassin, Aaron Cross played by Jeremy Renner on the run from the same government agency hunting Bourne and they are still hunting him according to the movie it's just you don't see it here on screen. Edward Norton and Rachel Weiss are the new cast members and although good they have both done better as has Jeremy Renner as Cross. It's a slow but tense start which sees Treadstone covering their tracks by killing or silencing anyone that could uncover and reveal their work but the 2nd half of the movie has some good action. There are ways the series could continue, either returning Matt Damon to the series or by carrying on with Jeremy Renner but maybe it's time to give the series a rest. Ok and worth a watch just not as good as the first three films in the series especially the excellent The Bourne Ultimatum.

Okay, so the original Bourne movies ( based on a series of Robert Ludlum thrillers ) followed the amnesiac super-'assassin' Jason Bourne through his attempts to recover his memory and understand how he came to possess a rather interesting skill set (gadget-master; amateur spiderman; martial arts-guru) while simultaneously avoiding the evil clutches of 'bent' US agencies and other similarly skilled bad-guys from Operation Treadstone. The last movie ended as the first one had begun with JB face down in cold water.... alive/dead? - well; if you don't already know, then go and watch one of the best movie franchises to date for the answer.
Nevertheless the premise, that Jason Bourne was not the only one of these agents, was there from the original movie. This is where the Bourne Legacy takes off.
Jeremy Renner plays another agent from Operation Treadstone minding his own business in the icy wastes of North America and getting tooled up to kill and maim; until, that is, that his employers decide that he needs more than just a P45- the operation, and it's agents need to be 'wound up' thanks to Jason Bourne who seems have fallen under the radar of The Guardian (newspaper) - and what follows are a series of "mopping up" scenes reminiscent of The Godfather and Revenge of the Sith- as Treadstoners are sent to 'swim with the fishes'. This is the cue for our man to stand up, and for the mayhem to begin.

What I really enjoyed about the movie was how the thread of the storyline was woven into the fabric of the previous films plot before threading off into it's own original material. Yes this is set firmly in the already well envisaged Bourne Universe with characters from the previous movies (Pamela Landy) still alive and well. (even one of the Dead ones is up and running- albeit briefly!) The pace is superb, with a slow start -which allows for character and plot development - but which cranks up steadily into a truly frenetic climax with action scenes that I thought were purposefully clipped to give the impression of blink-or-you'll-miss-it speed.

The main protagonist Jeremy Renner takes on the lead like he was to the Manor Bourne and shows that Bourne did more for Matt Damon than Matt Damon did for Bourne; and the fine ensemble cast do themselves proud.

The movie also does a fine job of explaining the basis of how the 'Jason Bourne's' of this world get their skills - and the underlying science of it all isn't too badly handled either.

All in all a fantastic movie to watch on the big screen, and as good as any of the Bourne sequels. I really do not know why it has received such a mauling in the UK press (2 stars Empire magazine? Shame on you!) - but audience figures seem to show that the franchise does not need a star who was Bourne in a manger to make it work.

And thanks to Moby for a revamped version of Extreme Ways!

Well I have to say I'm taken aback by the ferocious negativity of the three reviews posted here so far. I thought that Renner and Weisz made a great team and injected fresh vigour into a series that seemed to have run its course. Yes there's too much technobabble, and yes the film sags a little in the middle, as if not sure exactly where it's going, however it is still a vibrant and intelligent spy movie that re-energises the formula and provides further opportunities for the series to live on - provided of course that 'Bourne 5' comes up with an original plot..!