As special operative Jason Bourne eludes capture (during the course of the first three films), the CIA decides to eradicate all the agents in their Operation Outcome program. While at an Alaskan outpost, operative Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) avoids termination by besting a heat seeking missile with only a high power rifle. Now on the run and in need of agency issued meds to maintain his performance level he rescues a doctor (Rachel Weisz), also a government target, and heads to Manila to viral himself off of the medication. For the second time in a month, we have a reboot of a major franchise, with a fresh faced cast in the lead and only five years after the prior installment, and again I found myself in the minority in thinking that the latest offering is better than anything the other films had to offer. Tony Gilroy's "The Bourne Legacy" is a filmization of Robert Ludlum's books that (for the most part) doesn't resort to the hand held queasiness that marked the first three films, and actually comtains a plot that isn't deliberately hazy. Renner is a dynamic action star, and brings a humor to the his role that Matt Damon was so sorely lacking in his ineffectual portrayals. The film is also elevated by the presence of Weisz, affecting as a traumatized MD, and Edward Norton as a ruthless head of operations. "The Bourne Legacy" is popcorn fun, that doesn't mind taking its time to tell its comprehensible (this was a major selling point for me) story, and pays off with its well constructed action sequences and humanized characters you could actually give a damn about.
