Actors: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Albert Finney
Directors: Tony Gilroy
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal
Release Date: December 11, 2012
Run Time: 135 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
When I think of Matt Damon, I always think about Jason Bourne. I have never really been though a huge fan of this series. I only saw “The Bourne Ultimatum” roughly days five years after its release and shortly before watching this film. And I only watched it since [semi-spoiler] I heard that it is connected to this film at various points. This is the first time that Jeremy Renner is taking over the franchise. After his key role in “The Avengers” as Hawkeye, he is does a decent job here but he can’t help the weak film overall. You are left with too many questions after watching this. I am very generous in my score, since I am still on a high from “The Avengers” and he is one my hot list right now. Also of course I do not think we have seen the end of the Bourne series either, so I assume there will be a fifth film soon.
Official Premise: The Bourne Legacy pulls back the curtain on a government secret even darker than Jason Bourne. When Bourne exposes Operation Treadstone at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum,he sparks a bonfire that threatens to burn down decades of research and development into the building of better spies and warriors. In The Bourne Legacy, audiences discover that there are actually a variety of covert intelligence programs – all of which now feel the threat of exposure. On the verge of having their conspiracy revealed, members of the government’s intelligence community will stop at nothing to erase all evidence of their top secret programs. With his life in jeopardy, agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) must use his genetically-engineered skills to survive the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse and finish what Jason Bourne started.
The Blu-ray releases comes with in a sweet combo pack with the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy and Ultraviolet digital streaming. The 1080p transfer looks great for the film but I expected that honestly and nothing less. The star of this release though is easily its audio track. “The Bourne Legacy” packs a perfect DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, which really steals the show. It also gives quite a workout to your surround sound system.
The special features are decent but overall each one runs too short. There is an audio commentary track from Director/co-writer Tony Gilroy, co-writer Dan Gilroy, editor John Gilroy, director of photography Robert Elswit, second unit director Dan Bradley and production designer Kevin Thompson. It is very in depth and recommend for only fans of the film. There are three decent deleted scenes, which run about 7 minutes and each with optional commentary from the Gilroys and Elswit. “Re-Bourne” is a short features on continuing the series without Jason Bourne. “Enter Aaron Cross” is another short feature about Renner becoming the next super agent. “Crossing Continents” is a featurette about filming on location. “Moving Targets” focuses on Aaron and Marta with cast/crew interviews. “Man vs. Wolf” features Renner talking about wolves. “Wolf Sequence Test” is an animated storyboard reel for the wolf attack. Lastly “Capturing Chaos: The Motorbike Chase” looks the filming of the fast-paced action scene.
