The Bourne Legacy  (2012)    73/100

Rating :   73/100                                                                     135 Min        12A

An excellent continuation of the Bourne film franchise which remains faithful to the elements that made the original trilogy such a huge success. The story takes place chronologically around the same time as the last Bourne film, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (07), but focuses on what was happening behind the scenes and also on the story arc of another agent in the program, Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner. The Red Dragon initially had misgivings about Renner’s casting here, as I was getting a little sick of seeing him play yet another soldier/warrior (much like the roles Sam Worthington often unfavourably favours), however he is actually really good here. Also making an appearance, and also very good, is Rachel Weisz, playing I think her first scientist role since ‘Chain Reaction’, whilst Edward Norton takes on a position within the shady confines of the U.S. government.

Easily the best action film on release at the moment, with a high level of intrigue. My main complaint would be that some of the action scenes are shot and cut in such a frenetic way it’s difficult to make out exactly what’s going on. ‘Quantum of Solace’ (08) suffered from similar complaints, and although director Tony Gilroy (who has been involved with the screenplay for all of the Bourne films) does well, it at times lacks the up-close finesse of Paul Greengrass, who helmed both Ultimatum and Supremacy. Nevertheless, worth going to see.

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