“The Bourne Legacy”  

David Begelman

Film Critic 

What to do when the star power of your franchise suddenly evaporates like water in the desert? You forge on, because sacrificing a killing at the box office just doesn’t compute—even if what you finally deliver is pretty much a mess. Being Bourne-again won’t turn out to be as uplifting as you surmised.

After a grueling stint in three blockbusters, Matt Damon decided to throw in the towel on the fourth time around. Maybe he had enough of Bourne “Identity,” “Supremacy” and “Ultimatum.” Maybe, despite the promise of a huge salary in the fourth retread of a $1 billion dollar enterprise, he opted for something else. Was he looking for a project more artistically compelling than another shot in a franchise that was beginning to sound like a broken phonograph record. Who knows?

Exit Hollywood super star Matt and his director Paul Greengrass. Enter writer/director Tony Gilroy, who with brother Dan has configured an entirely new 135-minute package drawing its inspirational cachet from the older Robert Ludlum novels. Gilroy scripted the three previous Bourne films. But it seems he’s in over his head as director. “The Bourne Legacy” is like an unpredictable microphysical particle. It goes every which way—and no one way in particular.

Matt Damon’s replacement is Jeremy Renner, fresh from his role as Hawkman in “The Avengers.” He plays Aaron Cross, and—as if you hadn’t guessed—a covert operative who has a nose for all the conspiratorial plans to do him in. Like Jason Bourne, he is also adept at martial arts, not to mention racing motorcycles in the Philippines. It’s a thriller in Manila that seems to go on forever (and with Rachel Weisz as sympathetic Dr. Shearing clinging perilously to him for the ride).

Interminable rides in vehicles careening through streets is as indispensable an item in blockbusters as anything else. The conceit was handled much more compellingly in “Bullitt” and “The French Connection” in the good old days. Today it’s just an extravagant exercise in film footage designed to keep you from nodding off over popcorn. 

Our new hero makes his initial appearance—for no apparent reason—in a mountainous region in Alaska after surfacing from waters so cold Neptune himself would think twice about such a chilling indulgence. He then connects with another superspy who lives in a cabin armed with enough hardware to riddle half of Seward’s Folly.

Other perils of Aaron Cross include eluding drones (and I don’t mean busy bees) monitored to blow him sky high, and keeping wolves at bay in scenes reminiscent of Liam Neeson’s plight in the 2011 “The Grey.”

It seems the inner circle out to dispatch our hero includes the dour team of Eric Byer, a deceptively retired colonel in the USAF (Edward Norton), Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn) and the seemingly retired Admiral Mark Turso (Stacey Keach). These folks are a mean lot to mess with. And they have an arsenal of equipment to track our hero relentlessly. Where would any blockbuster be without countless computers clicking and flashing away as if they were the real brains behind strategic ploys?

It’s hard to tell how undercover those evil schemers actually are. There’s some suggestion they’re acting outside of officially sanctioned government channels. Upper level functionaries of secret agencies like Pam Landy (Joan Allen) and Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) responsible for all the fuss are seen near the end of the film getting a drubbing from investigatory committees. And Aaron Cross and Dr. Shearing are subsequently seen chugging away in a river boat, as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

It’s marvelous to see how all the problems of high tech conspiracy can be dispatched when you put your mind to it.