The Bourne Legacy Blu-ray Review: A Fantastic Addition to the Bourne Universe

The Bourne Legacy
Blu-ray/DVD
Available: December 11th

Coming into The Bourne Legacy knowing that it’s a new storyline with a new lead character had me worried. I loved the previous Bourne movies and Matt Damon did an excellent job as Jason Bourne, so your first instinct is naturally, the new movie, with a new lead character, will be trying to copy and replace the previous movies. There is the overriding sense that it’s going to be more of the same, but not nearly as good because of the new characters and its new story. I remained neutral with my feelings about this movie going in, but I was certainly not looking forward to it like I had been with the previous Bourne movies.

I must say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised by The Bourne Legacy and by the end of the movie I was absolutely in love with it. The story and pacing of the movie was done really well. It was intriguing and had you interested in the two main characters. First of all, Jeremy Renner as the lead character Aaron Cross did an absolute amazing job in his performance. My initial instinct had me wondering how he is going to come across as a lead character in a similar type of role as Matt Damon with Jason Bourne. Well, you forget about that almost instantly and appreciate Jeremy Renner’s portrayal of Aaron Cross a lot more. He does such a great job in this role that you can really appreciate the new character and not miss Jason Bourne at all. This is Aaron Cross’ show and Jeremy Renner does a fantastic job of bringing him to life.

Rachel Weisz was also brilliant in her significant role as Dr. Marta Shearing. She did a fantastic job in many intense scenes and really gave a great performance overall. She has a likable character and it was great seeing her and Jeremy work together well in their roles throughout the movie. But overall, the acting, directing and the tone that was set in this movie really creates for a great and intriguing film. There was a lot of action, but it didn’t feel as if it was overly done, thanks to great pacing throughout the film. I really couldn’t have been more surprised and impressed by what was done and no one should pass up this movie.

In timeline, The Bourne Legacy takes place alongside the last movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. It even ties in some of the scenes from the previous movie to tell the story of what is taking place in The Bourne Legacy. You will learn more about the agency and what they are trying to cover up and you also learn of Aaron Cross and other enhanced agents like him, who were part of another special government program to develop perfect agents. Still, the government is trying to cover all their tracks from exposure and get rid of all ongoing programs by eliminating each agent – Cross included.

The Bourne Legacy is a fantastic addition to the Bourne universe and I couldn’t have been more surprised and pleased by this movie. It has a lot of great scenes, both visually and with the action sequences. The story is interesting and is even more likable thanks to the characters and those who played their parts. I really got more out of this movie than what I expected. Bourne fans and action movie lovers will appreciate this movie and it comes across as more than just another action flick, as there is good character development. Not deep, but just the right amount. It’s definitely a great movie to own on Blu-ray. The bonus features on the disk are great to watch as they cover a lot of interesting aspects of filming this movie. I almost wish they had even more bonus material. This is certainly a movie to own and one that can be watched again and again.

Grade: A-
Review By: Andrew Stevens