Cinema Review: The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Continuing a franchise when the original lead actor has called it quits is always a tricky proposition, and one that rarely leads to ongoing success. Instead of going the Bond route of recasting the main character, Tony Gilroy, writer of all the Bourne films and now promoted to director too, wisely chose to continue the same storyline with a new character at its centre. (It will be tricky to continue having "Bourne" in the title if Matt Damon's absence remains, though, but that will be a problem for any future instalments.) The Bourne Legacy hits a few early speed-bumps - mainly due to the inherent problems in restarting a narrative that has, essentially, ended - but Gilroy does find his groove, and the resulting film is probably far better than most expected.