Review - The Bourne Legacy (2012)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. After the release of The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal was looking for ways to keep the Bourne series going. However, Paul Greengrass had little interest in returning after giving a pretty satisfying ending to Jason's journey in The Bourne Ultimatum, and Matt Damon had no desire to return without Paul Greengrass in the director's chair. So, Universal decided to make a spin-off film telling something of a side story running parallel to the events of The Bourne Ultimatum with the 2012 Tony Gilroy film The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac, and Donna Murphy, with appearances by Scott Glenn, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine, and Joan Allen. 

       So, the movie establishes that the U.S. Department of Defense has been running an experimental program called Operation Outcome, wherein their agents are tasked with carrying out similar ops as their Treadstone counterparts in the CIA, but with one caveat: Outcome agents also take performance enhancement pills called chems: Green for physical enhancement and Blue for neurological enhancement. Our main Outcome agent in this movie is Aaron Cross, who is on a training exercise in Alaska as punishment for going AWOL. Aaron also ends up at an Outcome cabin, where another agent is stationed. 

       Meanwhile, CIA Director Ezra Kramer goes to meet with an old friend named Mark Turso, and the two discuss a leak in the CIA, as journalist Simon Ross is working on an expose regarding Jason Bourne, Treadstone, and Blackbriar. Turso, however, brushes off Kramer's concerns as the CIA screwed up when it came to Bourne and the shuttering of Treadstone. In fact, Turso's exact words to Kramer are "You were given a Ferrari, and your people treated it like a lawnmower. You break it, you bought it." Kramer then suggests speaking with Col. Eric Byer, but Turso decides to take it upon himself to bring Byer up to speed. 

     Byer and his team then begin their investigation, looking for anything potentially damning in regards to the CIA and Treadstone, but not Bourne himself. But, it's when they see a YouTube video of Treadstone head doctor Albert Hirsch together with Outcome head doctor Dan Hilcott that Byer realizes that Treadstone could be potentially linked to Outcome, and the fallout would be bad. So, Byer decides that Outcome needs to be shut down and all assets eliminated: agents and medical staff alike. 

      Aaron, luckily, manages to survive, and is able to return from Alaska, saving the file of Dr. Marta Shearing, who was one of the only medical staff of Outcome to survive, and is still alive thanks to Aaron. Marta also reveals to Aaron that he no longer needs the green chems as he was "viraled off" of the green chems a while back. According to Marta, when and Outcome agent is "viraled off, the doctors use a live virus to permanently lock in all the enhancements from the chems. Unfortunately, the only way to get a live virus is in the Philippines, so the two travel there so Aaron can "viral off" the blue chems and lock in his neurological enhancement. 

      Byer is exceptionally upset that Aaron and Marta are still alive, and reveals that another beta program, Larx, is ready, and he has one agent ready to go after Aaron and Marta. Larx, apparently, is a DOD supersoldier program, described as "Treadstone without the inconsistency and Outcome without the emotional noise." Byer dispatches Larx-3, the agent on standby, to go after Aaron and Marta. But, it's too late, as Marta has already introduced the live virus to lock in Aaron's neurological enhancement. It's also here where we learn that Aaron's true name is Kenneth Kitsom, and Byer recruited him into Outcome. 

        Back in the States, a series of hearings take place, where CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen, whose operations with Blackbriar were exposed by Pamela Landy, reveals that the sole reason Blackbriar existed was to bring in Jason Bourne, and Landy committed treason for leaking said files to the press. Meanwhile, Aaron and Marta take a boat from Manila and discuss where to go next. 

       The Bourne Legacy isn't bad, it's just pedestrian. While it follows the same basic beats as a typical Bourne film, it unfortunately lacked the star power of series lead Matt Damon. Now, while Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross was an interesting lead, and the likes of Rachel Weisz as Marta and Edward Norton as Byer were definitely fascinating, they lacked some of what made the likes of Nicky Parsons, Marie Kreutz, Conklin, Ward Abbott, and previously featured Bourne series characters so iconic. Director Tony Gilroy, who had been a writer in the first three movies, did a decent job directing this movie, but it just felt like supplemental material as opposed to what fans were hoping for. So, I'm giving The Bourne Legacy a rating of 4/5. 

        Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys in the next review. And, be sure to tune in next month for the final Bourne film review: 2016's Jason Bourne.