Doesn't add to the Bourne legacy.

Rating: 5/10 (16 August 2012)

Beginning with a training exercise in Alaska, this sequel spin-off ditches Matt Damon's Jason Bourne (although he remains an off screen presence) in favour of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), a fellow super-assassin trying to be exterminated after the public CIA fallout that concluded The Bourne Ultimatum. The eminently watchable Renner naturally delivers the goods and he capably carries the franchise forward in Damon's absence, however he is let down by a substandard plot that underwhelms when compared to the original trilogy. A rather simplistic story – Cross is in search of more medication whilst attempting to stay alive – it struggles to manufacture tension or intrigue, whilst being quite tacky in its efforts to incorporate the narrative within the existing series. The action is surprisingly scant too; there's only one noteworthy set piece in the first two acts and the climactic motorbike sequence is largely unimpressive. Thankfully Renner, his love-interest Rachel Weisz and pragmatic big bad Edward Norton all step it up a gear and ensure this 'sidequel' doesn't tarnish, whilst ironically, not adding to the Bourne legacy.