11th September, 2012

DAVID ADAMS

The Bourne Legacy (M/12A/PG13)

In A Word: Re-Bourne

In this, the latest instalment in the Bourne franchise, Jason Bourne is everywhere - and nowhere.

The Bourne Legacy kicks off part way through the action of the previous Bourne film (which makes for an inexplicable start if you haven't seen the prior films) and while Jason Bourne, played in the previous films by Matt Damon, is a peripheral and ghostly presence throughout the film, the action here centres on another Bourne-like identity, Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner).

Like Bourne, Cross is the result of secret program overseen by a number of sinister government and private figures, aimed at creating the perfect spy/assassin. And, as with the previous Bourne films, it's giving nothing away to say that much of the plot revolves around Cross' attempts to uncover his true identity and how he came to be involved in the program in the first place while the same time escaping from the clutches of those who created him and now want to see him dead.

Cross is assisted by a scientist, Dr Marta Shearing (played by Rachel Weisz), who joins him when her previous involvement in the program brings its own death sentence as a reward. Edward Norton brings a menacing touch to the film as retired colonel Eric Beyer, who heads the group which has overseen the programs annd while Renner doesn't have the same presence of Damon's Bourne, he does bring a new grit to the role.

Visually impressive and reprising the same non-stop pace of the previous films, (including a terrific chase scene in Manila), The Bourne Legacy is a skillful reboot of the Bourne series and through the story of Cross we're launched into the next phase of the Bourne films.

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