We just had to watch this movie on the first weekend of its theatrical release. Monique, the Callar kids and I trotted off to the movie house at Cash and Carry Mall, and we spent our Saturday afternoon enjoying the Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz thriller--The Bourne Legacy. Earlier this year, we spent quite a few weeks trying to navigate through the diverted Sta. Mesa traffic as the movie was being shot in town (other movie locales include the Remedios Circle, EDSA, Plaza Lawton, the Malabon fish port, and Palawan), and we were quite anxious to find out how everything pieced together.
Apparently, the events of this movie take place at the same time the events of the first three Bourne movies also take place (Matt Damon stars in all three earlier films--The Bourne Identity released in 2002, The Bourne Supremacy released in 2004 and The Bourne Ultimatum released in 2007). Maybe due to the spy jargon, the story was a bit disorienting at first, specially to the kids who had no idea of what the first three films were all about. One has to have some background on the Bourne story line to appreciate the complex dialogue by the CIA characters. To cure that, I whispered to Monique (right in the middle of watching the film) that all they had to understand was that because of the actions of Jason Bourne in the first three films, the bad guys decide to kill the other drug-enhanced agents, Aaron Cross being one of them (Jeremy Renner's character). As the bad guys decide to kill Dr. Marta Shearing too (Rachel Weisz's character), Dr. Shearing is forced to tag along halfway around the world in order to cure Aaron Cross. I think the kids understood that simple explanation of mine, and simply enjoyed the heart-pounding action after that.
If you will recall, the first TV movie made from this Robert Ludlum book featured Richard Chamberlain in the starring role, and the franchise has passed through Matt Damon and now to Jeremy Renner. Both Renner and Weisz are no strangers to fast paced action films, Renner having previously done MI: Ghost Protocol and the Avengers, while Weisz did the Mummy films with Brendan Fraser. I like the way Renner portrays a super-spy--vulnerable, very human, with plenty of boyish wit and charm, yet with fast moves, cool intuition and quick analytical thinking. I also like the way Weisz portrays the unsuspecting doctor. Her memorable scenes come when the character is in a state of pure panic--at the lab when her colleague decides to go on a shooting spree, at her house when another liquidation is attempted, and dangling from the backseat of motorcycle during the motorcycle chase.
The Manila scenes were practically one-third of the movie, and the chase scenes were thrilling and very realistic. I don't think that they employed computer generated special effects, and I understand that both Renner and Weisz shot the chase scenes several times over, without stunt doubles, in order to get the best viewer thrills. The end, however, was a bit abrupt and bitin (hanging unfulfilled), and I still would like to see just what happens next to the CIA bad guys. I understand that the movie was shot for US$120 million, and as worldwide gate receipts over the first weekend have gone up to US$88 million already, I'm pretty sure that Jeremy Renner will have another shot at the franchise!
Watch it with lots of popcorn, and don't mind the spy gobbledygook...
Two thumbs up!
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