Who is Jason Bourne? The first film in what ended up becoming the Bourne trilogy asked the very question. However, now that Matt Damon’s signature character has moved off the radar, audiences will instead find themselves asking, “Who is Aaron Cross?”
Aaron Cross is a specialized agent working for the CIA in a top-secret program that trains elite assassins. In order to protect the program that he is a part of, members of the CIA decide that he must be terminated. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, the biggest hitch in the design and execution of The Bourne Legacy is the fact that it is the exact same concept as practically every other Bourne film.
We first meet Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner, in a remote location somewhere in the snowy mountains. He’s surviving on his own while being followed by a pack of wolves, but, of course, he’s more than capable of taking care of himself as he travels across the snow-covered mountaintops. It would be easy to imagine Matt Damon’s character, Jason Bourne, doing the exact same thing. The film goes on to pair our trained assassin protagonist with a naïve, yet strong-willed female companion. In this case, the role is filled by Dr. Marta Shearing, played by Rachel Weisz, a scientist working with the CIA to help engineer the super-assassins. As the film progresses, we transition between Cross and Shearing, operatives at the CIA and the top-dogs trying to protect their covert operations from leaking to the public. Which, in case you haven’t seen the films, is the same play-by-play as all three of the Bourne movies.
Admittedly, there are some differences, however, these changes come down to character development. Toward the beginning of the movie it is revealed that Cross relies on medication in order to sustain hyper-sensitive senses and incredible endurance and strength; whereas Bourne is never shown taking pills or seemly having enhanced abilities. Also, where Bourne mostly kept to himself and rarely had a normal conversation with anyone, Cross seems to prefer companionship and is noticeably more talkative. When he meets another operative up in the mountains, Cross is quick to start up conversations and even ends up staying with him for a couple of days.
The “Bourne” films are infamous for their handheld-camera effect, also referred to as “shaky-cam”. However, this technique was noticeably less prominent in The Bourne Legacy. Except for some instances where Cross unleashes his martial arts skills on unsuspecting victims and, of course, the car chase scene, the camera remains relatively steady, which is actually pretty refreshing.
Speaking of car chases, Legacy does not disappoint. Director Tony Gilroy always delivers when it comes to Bourne’s car chases—we’re talking shattered glass, police sirens, narrow streets and Cross always managing to get away even though he’s being chased by a dozen police cars as well as a hired gun and has sustained severe flesh wounds along the way. Instead of cars, the mode of transportation for both Cross and his assassin pursuer are motorcycles, allowing Gilroy to squeeze even more nail-biting moments into the frame.
Cross is just as successful at losing the cops as Bourne was, but I have to give props to the assassin that they assign to kill off Cross because he is without a doubt the most competent and persistent agent that the series has shown us.
All-in-all, Legacy is a solid action movie. From car chases to explosions to bare-handed man-vs-wolf combat, Legcy is a nod-worthy effort toward a Bourne movie without Jason Bourne. Is it as good as the Bourne trilogy? No. But, if you love fast-paced stunts, car chases and Jeremy Renner as much as I do, that won’t matter.
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