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.

Replacing a lead character as integral to a series as Bourne is difficult, but so is taking the reigns of the reboot/sequel/spin-off/side-quel. Paul Greengrass' directorial style is so associated with Bourne now that it's almost the series' defining characteristic, despite Greengrass himself only picking up the job after Doug Liman's original. Gilroy holds back on some of the ad-hoc framing, frenzied camera movement, and rapid cutting that defined the Greengrass efforts while still making his film feel of a piece with the others; no mean feat. What the film consequently lacks in terms of relentless drive and breathless pacing it makes up for with layers of intrigue and character beats. Whereas Greengrass' entries often were more adrenaline than story (which worked for them), Liman packs in more exposition and slightly scaling back on the action.

While there are no sequences here to rival the likes of the Tangiers rooftop chase or Waterloo Station set-pieces in Ultimatum, Legacy is no slouch in the action department. Several earlier sequences are very well constructed, often prioritising suspense over surging tempo, while the climactic pursuit through Manila would be right at home in one of the previous films. This extended chase makes great use of the on-location work, thrillingly transitioning from a sprint over rooftops to a chaotic motorcycle dash. It only lacks a proper conclusion, feeling like it's building to a mano-a-mano with the relentless Terminator-like antagonist, only for it to not materialise.

Damon's replacement is no slouch. Jeremy Renner, go-to Action Star of the moment (see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, or Marvel's Avengers) since he broke through in The Hurt Locker, is almost a like-for-like replacement for Damon, sporting a similar babyfaced assassin look combined with punishing physicality. Renner's Aaron Cross, however, doesn't have amnesia like his predecessor, so is less likeable - Cross knows full well he's a trained killer. Cross's impetus here is his need to keep popping pills, referred to as chems, which maintain his supersoldier strength, stamina and elevated IQ, while on the run as the CIA crack down on the program in the wake of Bourne's actions. As a catalyst for the plot it's less engaging and personal than Bourne's quest to discover who he is, but actually works better than it might, thanks largely to Renner's winning presence.



Summary
A fine continuation of the Bourne saga, albeit sans Bourne, intelligently and cleverly spinning off the storyline into a new direction, delivering plenty of the requisite thrills along the way.