Upholds the Legacy...despite its flaws

Rating: 8/10 (12 August 2012)

The Bourne trilogy, loosely (VERY loosely!) based on the international bestsellers by Robert Ludlum and starring Matt Damon as the amnesiac black ops agent on the run from his former masters, redefined the espionage-thriller genre for the 21st century; with its gritty, realistic action; serious themes and emphasis on character and plot over glamour and exoticism. No less a franchise as James Bond has since been stylistically influenced by this groundbreaking series. But unlike the flamboyant 007, Jason Bourne's story was one with a clear beginning, middle and end. That end masterfully came about in the closing scenes of 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. For years it was believed Universal had finally laid one of its most successful franchises to rest - but inevitably, mass popularity and the lure of unprecedented commercial success won out, and 'The Bourne Legacy' is the result...
The Bourne franchise is back, but oddly enough, Jason Bourne isn't. When Matt Damon, perhaps rightly, declined to return his iconic character to the big screen, Universal cast Jeremy Renner to play an entirely different character, albeit one patterned after Bourne at least on the surface level. Tony Gilroy, screen-writer of all Bourne films too date and the director of this one, has described 'Legacy' as not so much a sequel as much as an 'expansion' of the universe, and having seen the film, I have decided it is prudent to take him at his word.
The early part of 'The Bourne Legacy' runs parallel to the events of 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. Even as Jason Bourne races across the globe, exposing the Treadstone program he was once part of, Colonel Eric Byer (played by Edward Norton), becomes increasingly concerned about the fall-out Bourne's very public actions will have on the myriad of US Government sanctioned black ops program. When the sh#t finally hits the fan (in the aforementioned ending of 'Ultimatum'), Byer decides to liquidate the 'Outcome' program, closely related to the now-exposed Treadstone. This involves not only the termination of its deep-cover genetically enhanced operatives, but also the scientists behind the breakthroughs that made the program possible.
The movie follows the stories of the two survivors of the purge-Outcome field operative Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) and Outcome scientist and medical researcher Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), who must depend on each other for their very survival. The pulse-pounding and often brutal action scenes are complemented very nicely by the chemistry between Renner and Weisz's characters. Marta is definitely a much superior female character to Franke Potente's Marie and Julia Stiles' Nicky Parsons from the trilogy. And Norton's morally ambiguous Byer comes across not so much as a villain as much as the uber-pragmatist, a self- confessed 'Sin Eater' who buries the 'moral excrement' in his work deep down inside. But where the film derives its strength from characterization and action, it is severely flawed when it comes to plot...especially towards the end. The conclusion is abrupt and provides hardly any resolution, beyond the tacit assurance of yet another sequel set in the Bourne universe...For a series that prided itself on its masterful story-telling, 'Legacy's' open-ended conclusion is sure to leave a sour taste in the mouths of many a die-hard fan and critic alike!
In conclusion, 'The Bourne Legacy' set out with a specific purpose-to make the Bourne franchise viable again by expanding the universe through new characters and concepts. It certainly achieves THAT purpose and more, but fails to retain the standards of its predecessors when viewed as a stand-alone story.