The Bourne Legacy (2012) - Tony Gilroy

Plot - Set during the events of Bourne Supremacy, Aaron Cross is a product of a related programme to the Treadstone one that produced Jason Bourne. Due to the potential exposure of Bourne the higher ups in charge decide to shut the programme down which means killing everyone involved from scientists to the agents. Of course Cross manages to avoid the massacre and is on the run. Due to his reliance on the drugs of the programme he tracks down one of the scientists who has also somehow avoided being killed and together they must work together to survive......

Thoughts - This is a very boring film. It just seemed to go on and on from one set piece to another and then another set piece. People chase each other around in motorcycles, across rooftops, agents face off against each other in quick-cut you're-not-really-sure-what-just-happened but you think someone's hit someone else action scenes and none of it ever manages to capture any of the simple excitement of that first Mini car chase in the Bourne Identity.

Jeremey Renner is pretty non-descript in the title role. He's a tougher looking presence on screen compared to Matt Damon (watching the first segment of Renner in the woods in a 'The Grey'-lite section it would be difficult to image Damon making it look convincing) but that's it really, he's actually even more dull than Damon's Bourne. Whereas Bourne had his identity mystery to uncover and had the element of moral confusion, here Renner comes across as little more than a trained robotic assassin who needs his pill fix to keep him.....exactly as he is. That's it. There's little more to the plot than that. Rachel Weisz is lovely as ever but her character is just along to look scared and drive the plot along for Cross to do his thing. Norton plays it absolutely straight laced (a little more maniacal would have been a bit more interesting) as the agent in charge of chasing Cross down and much like the films palette he and all the characters in the film are a boringly dull grey.

There's no style in the film, at least Greengrass had his shakey-cam, this could be one of any number of standard spy thrillers. The Bourne name is as you would expect totally superfluous. As Moby plays over the final credits it strikes you as fitting that such a middle of the road band closes a middle of the road film.

4.5/10