Film Review: The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Albert Finney
Watch the trailer for The Bourne Legacy
(source: TheBourneLegacyMovie)
Synopsis
When I first heard that they were making another Bourne movie, I thought it was great as long as Matt Damon is back to reprise his Jason Bourne role as I loved and enjoyed his Bourne Trilogy. But, unfortunately, he wasn't on this one. I was very disappointed to hear that. I was thinking, what? They're gonna have a new Bourne movie without its star (Damon), who played the title character and made the trilogy and Bourne franchise a successful, commercial, and Box Office success? It didn't make sense! I hate when they replace a main lead (or even a supporting) character that still exist or living on its last movie. I can understand if the character has been killed off, but if not and it's title character, I just don't get why they would replace an actor who's still attached or rather still willing to reprise the character.
Anyway, at first, I was reluctant to see this film without Damon as I just don't like wasting my money on watching a different actor play the same character/role that I already was used to seeing in previous films. It'll just ruined my viewing experience. I was already thinking of passing and skipping this film when I heard the storyline and casting for this film and thought perhaps I should give this a chance before judging it without seeing it. Unfortunately, when the casting was announced, no Matt Damon, but good to know that his character's still alive and will be mentioned in the new film. The storyline is said to be somewhat new with a new main character, but still has ties to previous Bourne films. The new casting has sold me with Jeremy Renner in the lead, Rachel Weisz (loved her since The Mummy 1&2 movies!), and Edward Norton along with Bourne franchise vets (minus Damon): Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, and Scott Glenn. So, I decided to see this film for the new cast alone. Glad I did because I loved and enjoyed watching it as I did with the previous Bourne trilogy.
Matt Damon's Bourne trilogy (Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum) were still the best, of course, but it was nice that his Jason Bourne character was still mentioned (even his photos showing) in this film, which made up for the lack of Damon's actual physical appearance. It would been awesome if he made a surprise cameo. Still, this film was very good on its own that I barely missed Matt Damon.
This film was a little slow at the beginning, but once you warmed up and get to know Jeremy Renner's character Aaron Cross, the story progressed, and Rachel Weisz's Dr. Marta Shearing appeared, the story moved along at a nice, steady pace. Then, it went fast paced with lots action and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat! Also, it still had that Bourne style of running and chase scenes that I enjoyed watching. Great casting too especially with new additions Edward Norton as Retired Col. Eric Byer, Stacy Keach as Retired Adm. Mark Turso, and Zeljko Ivanek (yes, I remembered him from Heroes' last season...he was a really bad guy! And he was on this one too!) as Dr. Donald Foite, and Oscar Isaac (I knew he looked familiar! I recently saw him in Drive with Ryan Gosling and in Sucker Punch movie) in supporting roles. Most of all, it was great to see Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz in this film together. Who knew these two had a great on-screen chemistry?! Even though their characters were not quite romantically linked, I was hoping they would...they looked great together! Perhaps in the sequel?! It was also really nice to see Rachel's character getting more screen time and though she's a lil' damsel in distress, but she held on her own. I esp. loved her scenes with Renner and they were both great in this film!
Overall, The Bourne Legacy was a great film on its own. The story was written very well and quite interesting to follow. Loved the ties and continuity from the previous Bourne films. It was nice to see a different location in Asia like the Philippines (as well as Korea) for the second half of the film as opposed to the typical European countries and locations (aside from the following US' states Washington D.C., New York, and Maryland) already done in the previous Bourne trilogy. Nice change of place/location for a change! Great cinematography and visual effects. The running and motorcycle chase scenes were intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. It had plenty of action and suspense (which I loved and enjoyed watching the most in spy, action, and adventure movies) to keep you entertained, and the acting from the cast were quite impressive (from Renner to Weisz to Norton and the rest of the supporting cast). I highly recommend you see this, if you haven't already. It was worth watching and just a great movie! Go see it!
My The Bourne Legacy film rating:
(9.5/10; A)
Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), a new hero, experiences life-or-death stakes that have been triggered by previous events.Jeremy Renner is 3 for 3! He not only co-starred in 3 of the most successful films in less than 2 years with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Avengers, and this film, they were all #1 and great films. JR was pretty good in these 3 films too!
When I first heard that they were making another Bourne movie, I thought it was great as long as Matt Damon is back to reprise his Jason Bourne role as I loved and enjoyed his Bourne Trilogy. But, unfortunately, he wasn't on this one. I was very disappointed to hear that. I was thinking, what? They're gonna have a new Bourne movie without its star (Damon), who played the title character and made the trilogy and Bourne franchise a successful, commercial, and Box Office success? It didn't make sense! I hate when they replace a main lead (or even a supporting) character that still exist or living on its last movie. I can understand if the character has been killed off, but if not and it's title character, I just don't get why they would replace an actor who's still attached or rather still willing to reprise the character.
Anyway, at first, I was reluctant to see this film without Damon as I just don't like wasting my money on watching a different actor play the same character/role that I already was used to seeing in previous films. It'll just ruined my viewing experience. I was already thinking of passing and skipping this film when I heard the storyline and casting for this film and thought perhaps I should give this a chance before judging it without seeing it. Unfortunately, when the casting was announced, no Matt Damon, but good to know that his character's still alive and will be mentioned in the new film. The storyline is said to be somewhat new with a new main character, but still has ties to previous Bourne films. The new casting has sold me with Jeremy Renner in the lead, Rachel Weisz (loved her since The Mummy 1&2 movies!), and Edward Norton along with Bourne franchise vets (minus Damon): Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, and Scott Glenn. So, I decided to see this film for the new cast alone. Glad I did because I loved and enjoyed watching it as I did with the previous Bourne trilogy.
Matt Damon's Bourne trilogy (Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum) were still the best, of course, but it was nice that his Jason Bourne character was still mentioned (even his photos showing) in this film, which made up for the lack of Damon's actual physical appearance. It would been awesome if he made a surprise cameo. Still, this film was very good on its own that I barely missed Matt Damon.
This film was a little slow at the beginning, but once you warmed up and get to know Jeremy Renner's character Aaron Cross, the story progressed, and Rachel Weisz's Dr. Marta Shearing appeared, the story moved along at a nice, steady pace. Then, it went fast paced with lots action and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat! Also, it still had that Bourne style of running and chase scenes that I enjoyed watching. Great casting too especially with new additions Edward Norton as Retired Col. Eric Byer, Stacy Keach as Retired Adm. Mark Turso, and Zeljko Ivanek (yes, I remembered him from Heroes' last season...he was a really bad guy! And he was on this one too!) as Dr. Donald Foite, and Oscar Isaac (I knew he looked familiar! I recently saw him in Drive with Ryan Gosling and in Sucker Punch movie) in supporting roles. Most of all, it was great to see Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz in this film together. Who knew these two had a great on-screen chemistry?! Even though their characters were not quite romantically linked, I was hoping they would...they looked great together! Perhaps in the sequel?! It was also really nice to see Rachel's character getting more screen time and though she's a lil' damsel in distress, but she held on her own. I esp. loved her scenes with Renner and they were both great in this film!
Overall, The Bourne Legacy was a great film on its own. The story was written very well and quite interesting to follow. Loved the ties and continuity from the previous Bourne films. It was nice to see a different location in Asia like the Philippines (as well as Korea) for the second half of the film as opposed to the typical European countries and locations (aside from the following US' states Washington D.C., New York, and Maryland) already done in the previous Bourne trilogy. Nice change of place/location for a change! Great cinematography and visual effects. The running and motorcycle chase scenes were intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. It had plenty of action and suspense (which I loved and enjoyed watching the most in spy, action, and adventure movies) to keep you entertained, and the acting from the cast were quite impressive (from Renner to Weisz to Norton and the rest of the supporting cast). I highly recommend you see this, if you haven't already. It was worth watching and just a great movie! Go see it!
My The Bourne Legacy film rating:
(9.5/10; A)
Comments