The Bourne Legacy

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Year:	2012
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Tony Gilroy
Genre:	Prequel?  Sequel? Certainly not equal
Starring:	Jeremy Renner,  Edward Norton
Rating:	3/5
IMDB link:	www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/
Tagline:	There Was Never Just One
Favourite line:	"Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg."

Bourne without Matt Damon.
That’s a bit like Bond without Connery.
Or Moore.
Or Dalton.
No, hang on...

The plot:
Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is a big, buff, rugged brute of a man, part of a Black Ops unit known simply as Operation Outcome. On a training mission in Alaska, it is Cross’ job to reach a cabin, team up with a fellow operative, replenish his supply of chemical stimulants, before moving on.
Stalked by wolves, Cross reaches the rendezvous and all seems fine, until an unmanned drone aircraft destroys the cabin, killing the other operative, and leaving Cross alone in the wilderness, hunted by those he used to consider his superiors.
See, Operation Blackbriar, and Touchstone (watch the first three films, numbskulls) have been exposed and, now, the powers that be are erasing them from history.
All operatives and scientists are to be eradicated.
Thing is, Cross isn’t ready to die just yet.

A globe-trotting event this, as is suitable and expected for an espionage action thriller. Starting in Alaska, we see Thailand, The Philippines, London and South Korea before we’re through and this gives a nice worldly feel to events.
Main point of interest, surely, is whether Renner can fill Matt Damon’s considerably successful boots as the new Bourne-like operative and, in truth, he does just fine. Though not as sympathetic a character – Damon, though something of a man mountain, still managed to feel somehow vulnerable – Renner instead is more driven by his need for chemicals to keep him functioning, so is perhaps more manic, but it works well enough.
Ed Norton pops up as the sleazy colonel tasked with leading the hunt for Cross, and his presence is always a welcome addition to any movie and, though he doesn’t really get much to sink his teeth into, he’s fine too.
And that’s probably the main problem with the movie.
Everything is fine.
Just fine.
No more, no less.
And that is probably not enough for an action movie, anymore. Indeed, there were moments when this film felt almost anachronistic; an old-fashioned thing, somehow out of time.
Not as frantic as the Greengrass Bourne movies.
Not as muscular as the Craig Bond outings.
Not as outright fucking brutal as something like The Raid or Ong Bak, this felt tame and toothless.
Kind of enjoyed it.
Will never watch it again.
Let’s just hope this is The Bourne Conclusion.