Rating: C+
Dir: Tony Gilroy
Star: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach
You can perhaps call this the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service of the Bourne franchise. Regardless of a highly successful preceding film, the makers had to go with a new star as the lead character, and it really didn’t work. Though this isn’t necessarily terrible: if it hadn’t been a Bourne movie, it would have been fine, and has some cool moments. But missteps such as having it take place in parallel to the events of Ultimatum do little, except remind you how good that was. The central plot has the ripples from the exposure of Treadstone and Blackbriar affecting other secret programs, which need rapid termination. Specifically Operation Outcome, a project to create enhanced super-soldiers.
One of these is Aaron Cross (Jenner), who does not take kindly to a drone-powered attempt at said rapidly termination. He stuffs his RFID chip down a wolf’s throat (!) to fake his death. Meanwhile, at the drug company providing materials for Outcome, Dr. Marta Shearing (Weisz) is the only survivor after a rampage by a co-worker. She is subsequently saved from being suicided by Cross, and the pair head to the Philippines to find something which will lock in Cross’s upgrades. Naturally -and as we have seen throughout this franchise – the powers that be, such as Admiral Mark Turso (Keach), the man in charge of Outcome, or Col. Eric Byer (Norton), are not willing to let it go. This goes as well as it usually does.
I noted, way back in my review of the original movie, “I suspect it’s probably Damon who proved key to the film’s success.” A decade later, the studio saw fit to prove my point, by attempting to make a Jason Bourne movie without Jason Bourne. I’m not sure in what universe this seemed like a successful idea. Probably the same one where studio execs thought crowds would roll up for a Mad Max film without Mad Max. Again, it’s not a particular reflection on the film’s quality. It’s more that entering a movie called The Bourne Legacy comes with certain expectations. Such as the film having more than trace amounts of the titular character. Call it The Cross Conundrum and be done with it.
Super-soldiers created through dubious science by a more dubious company, operating under very dubious orders? Yeah, it feels less grounded than previous movies, and closer in tones to things like the Universal Soldier franchise. Jenner has the taciturn hero schtick down well enough. There’s just not much else. He frequently resembles a Terminator (top), and it’s easy to see why he ended up in the MCU. I did appreciate how Gilroy had a more restrained approach than Paul Greengrass. However, I suspect it’s likely significant – though for what reason I don’t know – that the director hasn’t helmed another feature since this. A solid vehicle chase through the streets of Manila (where everyone seems to leave their keys in the ignition) is the standout sequence, in a movie which is otherwise the definition of forgettably competent.