Review: The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Legacy (dir. Tony Gilroy)

When Tony Gilroy, the man responsible for penning the three previous Bourne films, was faced with Matt Damon’s decision to not reprise his role as rogue agent Jason Bourne he was left with two choices. One was to carry on as the James Bond franchise has done so prudently, simply recast the role of Bourne and continue the story from where Ultimatum left off or, as Bourne Legacy is the first of the films not finding its origins in a Robert Ludlum thriller, expand the depth of the story to the point in which Bourne and ‘Treadstone’ are the tip of the iceberg.

It was the latter which Gilroy, rightfully, opted for casting Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, Avenger’s Assemble) as agent Aaron Cross who, as a result of Bourne’s antics in Ultimatum which occur as this film goes on, is forced to go rogue as his programme is closed down by an emotionally detached Ed Norton. There are often scenes is this film which show men in suits, in boardrooms conducting the murder of people from around the world, a scenario which serves to unsettle the audience’s trust towards any authoritative figures who are pulling on a wealth of resources to track Cross down. Cross’s only help comes in the form of scientist Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) who is also forced to flee for her life for her part in the ‘Outlook’ programme: creating the drugs which give those on the programme a Nietzschean superiority.

Whilst this film certainly does lack the intellectual edge which the three previous flourished, Gilroy has created a film which continues the Bourne franchise in a way which works fine. For some, he may be going slightly too far as he adds another programme which eradicates the inconsistencies of ‘Treadstone’ and the emotions of ‘Outlook’ later in the film suggesting even more possibilities for another post-Bourne sequel.

Where the film has true strength is in the expert handling of Renner’s action sequences and the suggestions it makes that there are people in the real world who have to make decisions that, as Norton reassures Cross, are ‘morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.’ It is perhaps the same sentiment that will enter the viewer’s head as Moby’s ‘Extreme Ways’ welcomes the closing titles of the 23^rd Bourne, one shudders to think.

Film previews for The Whistleblower

Looper (dir. Rian Johnson)

For anyone who saw Rian Johnson’s debut feature film Brick, a neo-noir thriller that drew heavily from the hard-boiled fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Looper is bound to cause excitement. Casting Joseph Gordon-Levitt once more as his leading man, Johnson’s third film takes place in a futuristic gangland where time travel has been invented – but made illegal.

As a result, time travel is available only on the black market which the mob then use when they want to get rid of someone by sending them back 30 years into the past where a hired gun, or ‘looper’, like Joe is waiting. It seems like the perfect crime until one day the mob decide to close the loop, sending Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) back to the past to be assassinated, forcing Joe on the run as he chases down his future self.

Johnson has written as well as directed this film which has the appearance of a well-crafted science fiction film that draws on the characters and language of pulp fiction and film noir. Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels are set to support the two leading men in what looks to be one of the most original and anticipated films of the year.

Looper opens in the UK on 28 September.

On the Road (dir. Walter Salles)

An adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s celebrated novel On the Road has been in the pipelines now for over three decades since Francis Ford Coppola, who executive produces, first displayed interest in 1979. Since then the project has undergone several changes in directors and screenwriters before finally settling on Walter Salles and Jose Rivéra, the team that brought us the road-trip memoir of Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries.

Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical book is one which depicts the time he spent around the likes of Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and, primarily, Neal Cassady, who provides the inspiration behind the Dean Moriarty character (Garrett Hedlund). The film follows aspiring writer Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) and charming ex-con Dean Moriarty as they hit the road in a search for unquenchable freedom. Their journey takes them on an adventure which captures the zeitgeist of the 1950s beat generation to which Kerouac belonged and deals with themes of abandoned women and absent fathers which are crucial to the book.

Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Steve Buscemi add to the cast providing the array of love interests and free spirited characters which Sal and Dean encounter on their way through the cityscapes of San Francisco, New York and New Orleans. The film promises an energetic jazz soundtrack consisting of Ella Fitzgerald and Slim Gaillard alongside an original score from Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain).

                               On the Road opens in the UK on 12 October.

   Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)

Although details of the forthcoming James Bond movie Skyfall have been kept pretty much under wraps, one thing we know for sure is that it will see Daniel Craig return as Her Majesty’s secret servant - although there have been no reports of any scene involving Craig and Queen Elizabeth II parachuting out of a helicopter into any Olympic stadiums!

First-time Bond director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) is at the helm of the project promising to continue the theme of a psychologically damaged 007 for the film which coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the prestigious franchise, born out of Ian Fleming’s novels. That said, at the Skyfall press conference Mendes, who has worked with Craig before on the film Road to Perdition, was quick to dismiss any notion that the film would shy away from action sequences in order to concentrate on Bond’s psyche, insisting there will be ‘a lot of action and much more.’ Mendes being an accomplished stage-director as well as film, you can be assured that he will be able to deal with both elements to of the film with dexterity.

Judi Dench will reprise her role as M for an impressive seventh time alongside a celebrated cast including Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Me) as the film’s villain, and Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Coriolanus) whose character, like much of the film, is shrouded in mystery. Locations for the film include London, Shanghai, Istanbul and Scotland so you can be sure that Skyfall will contain the spectacle which we have all come to know and love over the past 50 years and 23 films.

Skyfall opens in the UK on 26 October.