I'm surprised the fourth installment in the Bourne saga, The Bourne Legacy, has attracted so many talented people, considering it's on shaky ground without Matt Damon and the first two sequel's director Paul Greengrass. But the famous names involved helps give Legacy legitimacy.
Now, franchise screenwriter Tony Gilroy steps behind the camera instead of Greengrass, and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) is playing a new super-spy in the Jason Bourne mold who goes on the run when the CIA send assassins to erase agents of the controversial "Operation Outcome" (a success or Bourne's "Operation Treadstone"). Fresh blood is provided in the alluring form of Rachel Weisz (as a love-interest doctor) and Edward Norton's on hand as the villainous Agent Byer. Bourne veterans Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Albert Finney, and Scott Glenn all reprise their roles from the Damon-led trilogy, too. There's even some fine character actors in supporting roles, from Stacy Keach (Prison Break) to Zeljko Ivanek (Damages).
The trailer itself looks pretty good, if slightly unremarkable. I just hope it brings something new to the table, because in many ways it still feels like they've just found an acceptable way to keep Bourne going—without the star and director who made those movies into global hits. But I really like Renner (who's already having a great year with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and The Avengers) and more readily accept him as an unstoppable, high-skilled operative. Plus it's nice to see from the trailer that the previous movies aren't being brushed aside in any way, so perhaps Matt Damon could still be tempted back for a team-up with Jeremy Renner for Bourne 5. The Bourne Duplicity?
THE BOURNE LEGACY is released on 13 August in the UK.
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