Monday, March 04, 2013

Movies: The Bourne Legacy

Here's the thing about these Bourne movies. We watched the first three and I guess I liked them okay because I kept watching them, but I couldn't tell you anything about the plots except in the vaguest terms: "Uh, this guy ran around a lot and people kept trying to kill him." Well, when we watched the fourth and newest one, THE BOURNE LEGACY, I remembered a little more about the first three. "Oh, yeah, there's a sinister government conspiracy trying to cover up a failed super-soldier program. And a guy runs around a lot while people keep trying to kill him."

That's right. Except for the fact that it's Jeremy Renner playing a new character named Aaron Cross instead of Matt Damon playing Jason Bourne, it's the SAME EXACT MOVIE.

Don't get me wrong. THE BOURNE LEGACY is well done and fairly entertaining, and I actually like Jeremy Renner as much or maybe even more than Matt Damon, but a better plot sure would have helped it. And the seemingly endless motorcycle chase through the streets of Manila that serves as the climax is at least four times too long. It just goes on and on and then sort of stops, like the movie itself.

Despite all that, if they make a fifth movie in the series, I'll probably watch it. Because by then I'll have forgotten almost everything about the first four.

3 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

What a sad commentary on the movies we make. And it holds through for TV often too. You can shuffle scenes from various shows and never miss a beat.

Jack Badelaire said...

I was bored last night and called up "The Bourne Supremacy" on Netflix. I watched the first five or so minutes before turning it off, because I finally remembered enough of the plot to also remember I didn't care.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Matt Damon was born to play Jason Bourne, it might seem. Though Damon has done well for himself in Hollywood, I think he deserves more credit and accolades than he gets. And though the initial three films were really good, Ludlum's popular novels will always get top billing first, from me at least. I have, of course, not seen this film yet.