The Bourne Legacy - Movie review #jpmn

• The Bourne Legacy (2012) -- Pointless follow-up with diverting excitement, 6/10. WATCH full episodes of "Movie Night" -- ****** TWEET a review with the #JPMN hashtag, and have it featured! ~~ Movie Night Reviews ~~ Your host, and film critic Jonathan Paula reviews everything from opening day releases, recent DVDs, upcoming trailers, and classics from years past. Each "Quick Review" is an excerpt from a full episode, which airs on the Jogwheel channel every week. ~~ Watch More Reviews ~~ Browse By Year ----- ****** Browse By Rating --- ****** Trailer Reviews ------- ****** ~~ Other Channels ~~ Jogwheel (Main channel) --- ****** Jon's World (2nd channel) -- ****** The Microwave Show --------- ****** uStream Live Shows ---------- ****** ~~ Social Media & Merch ~~ Twitter ---------------------------- ****** Facebook ----------------------- ****** Instagram ----------------------- ****** Patreon -------------------------- ****** Letterboxd ---------------------- ****** T-Shirts -------------------------- ****** ~~ Technical Credits ~~ Created by ------ Jonathan Paula Camera ---------- Panasonic HMC-150 Microphone ----- Sennheiser ME 66 Software --------- Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014 Computer ------- ****** • Jogwheel Productions © 2015 • ~~ Review Script ~~ Tony Gilroy directs this action spy thriller that was released in August of 2012. Although the titular character does not make an appearance - Matt Damon reportedly choose not to return - the 135 minute story still desperately tries to piggyback off the franchise's name recognition. This unnecessary follow-up shamelessly retreads the same ground we've seen before; with a mostly new cast - and a foolishly complicated, over-explained medical experiment backdrop. The PG-13 rated film routinely goes out of its way to attempt to incorporate itself *around* the events of the original trilogy; resulting in a sloppy, convoluted story. Rather than a prequel or a sequel, I believe this parallel setup is known as a "sidequel", but that sounds stupid, so let's never say it again. Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz are perfectly capable in their respective roles, but the comparisons to their predecessors is unavoidable, and they sadly don't match up. The familiar narrative has Renner unraveling the mystery of his origin, remarking to a potential lead: "What I'm going to do is wait for the next person to show up to kill you. Maybe they can help me." Edward Norton however is a welcome addition as a whip smart FBI agent tasked with finding them. Some supporting players return, like Scott Glenn, David Strathairn, Joan Allen and Albert Finney while newcomers Corey Stoll and Stacy Keach join the group as well - but all of these pursing officials are entirely interchangeable, and completely devoid of personality or backstory. The film also introduces even more continuity issues to a series that ignores time itself. When does "Legacy" take place? The events clearly happen during the narrative of "The Bourne Supremacy" which came out eight years prior... yet a sub-plot revolves around a YouTube video; which couldn't have existed in 2004. With less-shaky cam, and a sort of in-universe reboot of the story, some elements are cleaner, and tighter: plus, the action is generally rather exciting. An ambush - then escape - from an old house deep in the woods delivers ample tension. But it also runs almost twenty minutes longer than any previous film in the series, resulting in a much slower and drawn-out experience. As a stand alone spy-caper, this is definitely above-average material, but as a 'Bourne' picture, it is easily the weakest. The decision to incorporate these players into an existing universe with very little crossover besides a photograph or wood-carving hurts the movie immensely. It's nothing but a constant reminder that a better version of the film you're watching already exists. "The Bourne Legacy" is a pointless follow-up with diverting excitement, but still a GOOD film. ~

Tony Gilroy directs this action spy thriller that was released in August of 2012. Although the titular character does not make an appearance - Matt Damon reportedly choose not to return - the 135 minute story still desperately tries to piggyback off the franchise's name recognition. This unnecessary follow-up shamelessly retreads the same ground we've seen before; with a mostly new cast - and a foolishly complicated, over-explained medical experiment backdrop. The PG-13 rated film routinely goes out of its way to attempt to incorporate itself *around* the events of the original trilogy; resulting in a sloppy, convoluted story. Rather than a prequel or a sequel, I believe this parallel setup is known as a "sidequel", but that sounds stupid, so let's never say it again. Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz are perfectly capable in their respective roles, but the comparisons to their predecessors is unavoidable, and they sadly don't match up. The familiar narrative has Renner unraveling the mystery of his origin, remarking to a potential lead: "What I'm going to do is wait for the next person to show up to kill you. Maybe they can help me." Edward Norton however is a welcome addition as a whip smart FBI agent tasked with finding them. Some supporting players return, like Scott Glenn, David Strathairn, Joan Allen and Albert Finney while newcomers Corey Stoll and Stacy Keach join the group as well - but all of these pursing officials are entirely interchangeable, and completely devoid of personality or backstory. The film also introduces even more continuity issues to a series that ignores time itself. When does "Legacy" take place? The events clearly happen during the narrative of "The Bourne Supremacy" which came out eight years prior... yet a sub-plot revolves around a YouTube video; which couldn't have existed in 2004. With less-shaky cam, and a sort of in-universe reboot of the story, some elements are cleaner, and tighter: plus, the action is generally rather exciting. An ambush - then escape - from an old house deep in the woods delivers ample tension. But it also runs almost twenty minutes longer than any previous film in the series, resulting in a much slower and drawn-out experience. As a stand alone spy-caper, this is definitely above-average material, but as a 'Bourne' picture, it is easily the weakest. The decision to incorporate these players into an existing universe with very little crossover besides a photograph or wood-carving hurts the movie immensely. It's nothing but a constant reminder that a better version of the film you're watching already exists. "The Bourne Legacy" is a pointless follow-up with diverting excitement. Here now are your reviews. Although we all enjoyed this picture, everyone agreed it wasn't on-par with its predecessors. We rated it a SIX out of ten.