The Bourne Legacy

Rated: PG-13

Run time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz

When I first started seeing previews for this movie, I assumed they used “Bourne” in the title strictly for marketing purposes because it looked like it had absolutely nada to do with the previous released “Bourne Trilogy”. Well, you know what they say about assuming anything. The old adage is proved true again, because as my nephew so aptly described, “the whole plot of the movie isn't so much another "Bourne" but what happened behind the curtain when Bourne messed everything up for the company.” This is accomplished through a series of flashes, references and TV newscasts. And, it’s not just fluff, I thinks it adds to the plot of the movie.

Apparently the CIA has numerous programs to brainwash, enhance, etc. operatives to turn them into super spies/assassins. And during the course of the “Bourne” fiasco, they decided to cut bait on their other programs. Of course this doesn’t sit well with Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), but he doesn’t go for revenge (at least not in this installment). So the movie is a little bit different in that aspect and also he appears to have no memory issues. He just wants to quit being dependent on the pills they’ve been feeding him. This connects Dr. Marta Shearing (Weisz) is to Cross. I was wondering earlier in the movie how the doc was going to figure into this drama, as she so obviously had to. I’m not going to give anything away on how they come together, but Cross needs her help to get off of the pills and he has to help her out of a jam first.

I felt like the movie got off to a little bit of a slow start, I had to fight to keep my eyes open for the first twenty minutes or so. But once it took off, it kept going until the end. Renner and Weisz both turned in fine performances but for me Edward Norton is the one to watch. He’s the bad guy and you get the sense that he’s not necessarily a bad person, but he’ll do anything or have anyone erased if they get in the way of doing his job. And he appears to be scarily efficient at doing this.

I think they ended this movie with the possibility of a fifth installment, probably just using Renner. Matt Damon has said he doesn’t want to do another one, but the way this movie was done, I could see a sequel with both characters in it.

Bottom line is if you liked the previous movies, you’ll probably like this one too. Just don’t give up on it during the first few minutes and you’ll be rewarded with one of the better chase sequences I’ve seen in recent years.