Takes a while to reset but is solidly good once it does – not up to the original films though

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2012)

I had no great hopes for this film when it was announced that they were extending the franchise after the third film and it was with low expectations that I sat down to watch it. To give credit to the writers I did like the way that they stepped back into the same world rather than picking it up later or earlier than the original films. The plot sees actions taken to kill off all those who could expose Treadstone (ie those directly involved in it) due to the actions of Bourne threatening to bring everything down around them. In this film we focus on another agent trying to escape elimination and as such it works pretty well in terms of how it folds into the other films.
This allows it to be a rather inferior copy without having to deal with the accusations of it being one – because in essence it is a part of those films rather than a riff on them. The downside is that it does take some setting up; establishing new characters, linking them to the other Bourne movies, breaking it free from that narrative and then getting moving with this new thread – all of this takes time and it does show the strain within the first hour where it has a lot of words and very little action. This is a necessary evil but it does try the patience to a point in the first half of the film and at points through the second. A further downside is that it does stilt the flow of the film and when the action does come it feels rushed and that it doesn't have sufficient time to be consistent. It is still pretty thrilling once it gets moving but it is just the constraint of time and context – the ending also feels like a bit of an anti-climax as well, because we don't get the sense of the story going on from here (even though it clearly will). It does still work though and, although the action never gets to the standard of the previous films.
I thought Renner was on a hiding to nothing by trying to fill Damon's shoes, but in fairness he does do a really good job; he has the presence and he uses it well and it is just the shame that it takes the film so long to become "his". Weisz is a classy bit of casting and the film benefits from her support – again just a shame that it takes so long for the film to be given over to her. Norton helps minimize this to some point by being the heart of the first half of the film and being a good presence throughout – he works well and I would like to see him and Renner closer in the sequel to this film.
Overall Legacy isn't up to the standard of the previous films but it does still work pretty well. The writing is good even if it requires a lot of establishing before it can make the jump into this new film, but the starry and engaging cast help by virtue of their presences. It is in the shadow of the main films but it is still pretty enjoyable and I would be very happy to see this story be concluded in another film with the same cast and characters.