The latest installment in the hugely successful Bourne franchise stars Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye from “The Avengers”) as Aaron Cross, who like Jason Bourne (played by Matt Damon in the ‘The Bourne Identity,’ ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’), is on the run from the people who made him into the superspy he is.
If the plot sounds familiar, it is and that, wrote Joan Alperin Schwartz of Starpulse.com, is where the problem lies.
“You've seen this same plot before...many, many times before,” Schwartz wrote.
Schwartz faulted the movie for its lack of character development and flat ending, but admitted the film had some exciting moments.
“There are plenty of car chases, fight scenes, gun battles and crazy stunts involving leaping and jumping, but in the end ‘The Bourne Legacy’ lacks originality,” Schwartz wrote.
According to Ty Burr of The Boston Globe, the movie's exciting moments are not enough to compensate for the failure of the ending.
“A new-model government super-assassin (Louis Ozawa Changchien) is abruptly introduced to chase down the heroes, and the film suddenly turns into ‘Terminator 2.’ [Ed] Norton’s character drops down the rabbit hole, Joan Allen and David Strathairn from the earlier movies suddenly reappear, and ‘The Bourne Legacy’ folds its hand with a limp romantic fade-out and a cheesy pop song,” Burr wrote.
Here’s what other critics had to say about “The Bourne Legacy”:
“Detracting from the thrills of the latest of the action-adventure quartet are the complexity of plot, the inability of [director Tony] Gilroy to get us into the mind of the principal performer, and the absence of Matt Damon who brought in solid box office returns in the three films that preceded this one.” – Harvey Karten of Shockya.com
“Last week we had a very good example of a remake with 'Total Recall.' This week we have a very poor example of a reboot with 'The Bourne Legacy.' This attempt to start the franchise over with a new character is chaotic, confusing and reminds one of what a drug addict may go through during withdraw. Even if you have seen the previous 'Bourne' films if they are not fresh in your memory you may be completely lost during much of this latest installment.” – Tom Clocker of Examiner.com
“The film does endeavour to expand the mythology of the series, but in building out rather than pushing forward, it fails to fully engage as an absorbing story in its own right.” - Chris Tilly of IGN
Based on the series of espionage books by Robert Ludlum, “The Bourne Legacy” also stars Rachel Weisz (“The Mummy”), Edward Norton (“The Incredible Hulk”) and franchise veterans Scott Glenn, Albert Finney and Joan Allen.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and intense action sequences.
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Also, everyone in the theater was passing out.