The Bourne Legacy Legacy Blu-Ray Review
By: MattInRC
The disappointing Bourne Legacy delivers excellent audio and video for a film I wish was better.
As a fan of Intelli-Action (fast-paced AND smartly dialogued action cinema), I have enjoyed the Bourne series because it's essentially moved the action genre into a more intelligent direction, giving old tired franchises like James Bond new life. Watch Casino Royale to witness the renaissance courtesy of Jason Bourne. Thus it seemed like a strange moment when the lights came on after the satisfying The Bourne Ultimatum had concluded. Audiences were left to wonder as to the future of a franchise when its main character was essentially vindicated. The answer from Universal would take five years to arrive, as The Bourne Legacy would not reset the franchise, but rather move it in a different but no less familiar direction. So, does Legacy offer audiences another thrill-ride/political thriller? The answer is...well...maybe.
The Movie - 3/5
With Jason Bourne MIA and Blackbriar and Treadstone in tatters, we see a CIA ready to roll up its entire super-spy program, including a new and deadlier one called Outcome. One by one, these nine genetically-altered Guinea pigs are eliminated via powerful kill drugs disguised as the spy's daily ration of pills. In this smartly-executed roll-up, we are introduced to Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner, The Avengers), whose snow trek across the formidable Alaskan landscape is all part of his basic training. As he reaches a snowy cabin staffed by a fellow Outcome spy, the purge is already on, thanks to the efforts of Eric Beyer (Edward Norton, The Incredible Hulk) and Marc Turso (Stacy Keach, American History X), who send Cross a going away present wrapped in drone missile. Cross escapes, only to learn that the lab which orchestrated his journey to bad-ass super spy status has also been hit, leaving its sole survivor Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz, The Mummy) as a likely target for 'clean up.' As both struggle to stay one step ahead of the agency, Cross and Shearing must work together to complete Cross's genetic manipulation before he reverts to his former self, an army grunt whose recruiter added 15 points to his IQ, just to meet the quota.
Lost for almost 60 minutes in an odd mix of backstory/new story/boring story, Cross and his CIA friends dialogue and pontificate on too many subjects to keep up. By the time the promised action finally arrives, we've been given rambling lessons on chemistry, psychology, genetics, and the best way to take down a well-funded black ops laboratory. While this could be appealing as a documentary, it seeds a level of anxiousness among the audience that is not fully relieved by the mildly entertaining action set pieces, sans a gritty and intense shooting at the spy lab. Why director/writer Tony Gilroy (who penned all the Bourne films) felt that such conversations were necessary (and why we're forced to endure them) are beyond me. In addition, there's an odd feel to The Bourne Legacy, as if what we're watching is a 'looks and sounds like Bourne' flick, but is missing something underneath. Perhaps it's the soul of Matt Damon's hero that's gone, but it's also the lackadaisical pace at which the story moves. In the supplements, Gilroy admits that the script was incomplete when shooting began, bolstered by the comment that he hadn't realized Legacy had turned into a love story until the final scene was ready for shooting. Even 2nd Unit Director Dan Bradley, the 'Michelangelo of Action' as Gilroy puts it, is underutilized here, content to throw a couple of interesting pieces at us, but largely missing the large scale action that appeared frequently throughout the previous films. Perhaps the warning that using the same director and writer doom a project to failure (unless you're Joss Whedon) does have validity, as an objective third party could have cleaned up the story-heavy plot.
Renner satisfies as a suitable replacement for Bourne, but there's that lost element again in the switch. Where Bourne was a compassionate but invincible foe, Cross seems more like a drug addict, singularly fixated on 'locking in' his abilities by forcing a virus into his system to...blah blah blah. Stacy Keach is an odd choice here, but Norton plays CIA jerk quite well, sending you fixated glances about the unraveling mess that is Outcome. While the chemistry between Renner and Weisz make for good (not great) cinema, Gilroy does manage to interject enough of the Bourne humor to allow Cross and Shearing time to comment on the status of the chase. I think Renner will ultimately succeed in the role, but Gilroy must push the envelope beyond the 'spy getting chased by ill-suited black-ops hacks' line to keep the franchise fresh and exciting. I did appreciate the way Gilroy added elements from The Bourne Ultimatum into Legacy, merging two movies into a parallel timeline. As Bourne enters New York, Norton and team prepare to shut down their programs and eliminate their agents in the field, an ultimately effective strategy in a mire of lost opportunities.
Near the beginning of the film, Norton loudly ponders whether one of his employees is meant to be in the same meeting as he. I got that same feeling while watching The Bourne Legacy, as if Gilroy's long-winded, short-on-action script was meant for a viewer who enjoys an unbalanced experience to their films. While he does adequately expand the universe, paving the way for a continuation of the franchise, Gilroy will need to seek a better action/story balance and come out swinging in the sequel. For now, enjoy this good but not great effort: it's all I can do from venting extreme disappointment at the screen.
The Video - 4/5
The Bourne Legacy is presented in an MPEG-4/AVC transfer that's as gritty and yet clean as anything we've seen this year. A bit of Safe House thrown in with The Grey certainly benefits us here, with Gilroy's eye and Cinematographer Robert Elswit's technique translating into a realistic and punched up look. Colors mix between intense in the outdoor snow scenes, then stark in the Washington DC meeting rooms, all with near-perfect precision. I've read some critics complain that Legacy suffers from both color crush and ringing - I saw none of this on my Plasma. Blacks mix well with shadows, and snow fall never looks blotted out. Shaky cameras or not, edges are clean, while facial features such as hair and skin pop throughout. The grain and grit of previous Bourne films is here without any banding, aliasing, or edge enhancement. Universal has always excelled with their home transfers, and Legacy continues that by delivering a superior product once again.
The Audio - 5/5
When I reviewed The Bourne Trilogy earlier this year, I became instantly aware of Universal's stunning audio transfers. Legacy follows up by presenting a bone-jarring 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that's one of the year's best. Pounding and pulsing through most scenes, Legacy delivers every gun shot, punch, and motorcycle rev with perfect accuracy and power. And yet, no great audio experience succeeds by merely blasting us with a loud soundfield: Legacy features an immersive surround channel that brings the audience closer to the action by wrapping us in a mixture of crowd chatter, office dialogue, city noise, and other effects which move across the speakers effortlessly. Powerful yet subtle, the track succeeds in balancing dialogue with action, thus allowing us to enjoy the movie rather than play The Remote Game between scenes. The music of James Newton Howard (Grand Canyon) sets the mood right by knowing when to stand clear and when to strut. Howard and Sound Designer William Dean bring an improved presence to the LFE, thumping so often that I never noticed a let up. Even a particular dramatic exchange between our leads under a bridge featured a heart-beat like effect that made the scene that much more effective. In the end, The Bourne Legacy audio track makes a strong case for best of the series and one of the best of 2012.
The Supplements - 4/5
Not always known for presenting a deep collection of extras, The Bourne Legacy does a very good (but not great) job of telling the backstory of the film:
- Audio Commentary: The track features Director Tony, co-writer Dan, and Editor John Gilroy, along with Director of Photography Elswit, Second Unit Director Bradley, and Production Designer Kevin Thompson, presenting a thorough and insightful commentary.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 7 minutes): Three interesting but ultimately unneeded scenes are included -- "Pennsylvania Highway," "NRAG Research Room" and "Washington, D.C." -- each with optional commentary from the Gilroys and Elswit.
- Re-Bourne (HD, 6 minutes): The filmmakers discuss the challenges of moving on from Bourne and how the trilogy parallels into Legacy.
- Enter Aaron Cross (HD, 7 minutes): Renner is featured as a very suitable replacement for Bourne.
- Crossing Continents (HD, 8 minutes): The featurette follows Tony Gilroy and brother Dan, along with the cast and crew as they journey to various locations to shoot the film. The terrific 'casm' stunt is featured.
- Moving Targets (HD, 6 minutes): Aaron and Marta's relationship is featured.
- Man vs. Wolf (HD, 5 minutes): Renner and his double play with a collection of real wolves, 'hybrid' wolves (half dog/wolf) and animatronic wolves to shoot the attack scene.
- Wolf Sequence Test (HD, 2 minutes): I always love Pre-Viz, and this animated feature utilizes animated storyboard/and real footage to imagine the wolf attack.
- Capturing Chaos: The Motorbike Chase (HD, 8 minutes): Filming the extensive, final action sequence.
- My Scenes Bookmarking
- D-Box
Consumers had a few versions of the film available for purchase, including a nice steelbook from Best Buy. Our standard evaluation copy came complete with an embossed slipcase and a Combo Pack with the DVD and Ultraviolet digital copy.
The Final Word - 4/5
A good action film that stumbles too often when talking occurs, The Bourne Legacy is disappointing on many levels. The home release delivers a solid picture, great audio, and a respectable amount of supplements. If you love the franchise as much as I, you'll be pulling your hair out at the weakest of the franchise but still drawn to it like a moth to flame. That's the allure of the franchise, and why I'll be excited to see future iterations, even if this one fails to impress. Rent this one first before you buy it. The Bourne Legacyis rated a surprising PG-13 for intense violence, and has a runtime of 135 minutes.
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