The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Legacy: When Universal decided to forge ahead with the Bourne franchise after Matt Damon, a.k.a. Jason Bourne, decided to call it quits, they were most assuredly looking for a glorious changing of the guard—something akin to when Daniel Craig took over for Pierce Brosnan as 007. What they get with The Bourne Legacy is something closer to the vibe when Roberto Benigni replaced Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther franchise. Jeremy Renner taking over for Damon in this franchise feels like the underwhelming switcheroo that occurred when Andrew Garfield took over for Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. Renner, like Garfield, is a good actor. But he doesn’t command a movie like Damon can, no matter how good The Hurt Locker was. Renner isn’t nearly as good as Damon as the Bourne centerpiece. The plot feels like a poor, scrapped together excuse for keeping a franchise alive longer that it should be.