Ho-hum follow up to an amazing franchise

Rating: 7/10 (20 August 2012)

When I read about the latest instalment to the Bourne franchise, my first thought was could they do it without Matt Damon. The short answer to that is...no. Damon is Bourne and without Bourne there is no Bourne film and Legacy shows that while there is plenty of more story to tell you can't just leave behind the key elements. Bourne Legacy's high point is that you can't an epilogue to characters from the original trilogy. The people involved in Treadwell and Blackwater and the corrupt Government agents and also a play by play on where Bourne is. But then the film is basically saying...meanwhile...and showing us a different side of the Bourne program. This could be okay but they also changed the format of the film. It is far more political thriller than spy action flick. The Bourne series always managed to balance both. So the pacing is very slow comparatively. Its still a smart, well written, decently directed film but it doesn't hold its own against the others in the original trilogy.
Jeremy Renner is Hollywood's It guy right now. Ever since The Hurt Locker his career has really sky rocketed. I like him but I can't ever seem to LOVE him. His performance in Legacy is decent but not amazing. Either him or his character doesn't have the stamina to really rivet you to the screen. He's not as dark and ominous as Damon's Bourne, and he just doesn't seem to get a lot of action scenes in the film. Rachel Weisz who is an incredible actress does a decent job as Renner's cohort in the film. She certainly gives the best performance in the film. They don't spend any time developing a romance between them but just let the characters develop themselves and that part works well. You will notice plenty of faces from the other films and get a much appreciated update of them and their stories. Edward Norton joins the cast and he's always a welcome addition and he made a great pseudo-villain.
Director Tony Gilroy has been a Bourne co-writer since the first film so it was a wise decision to have him take over as director. He knows the series very well and the film still has the same feel as its predecessors. Whereas the first three films had this exotic gritty feel to the setting, it felt like Legacy tried too hard to capture the exotic locales instead of just letting it flow. For every action scene there were two long scenes of dramatic build up and it made the pace feel just too slow. Lovers of the Bourne franchise (which I am) will probably like Legacy but will ultimately leave them longing for the first three films. Bring back Damon! 7/10