Robert Ludlum's Bourne novels were a product of their era, and so the Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) and Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) film adaptations, understandably, had to pave a new path for the amnesiac agent that would make it less dated. By all accounts they did an incredibly good job, hitting a high note with The Bourne Ultimatum's non-stop pace and action sequences that blew the top off other recent films of the similar ilk. When Greengrass and Matt Damon stepped back and said they wouldn't be working on The Bourne Legacy, Universal's franchise had a major obstacle to overcome. Could they slot in a new actor, in this case Jeremy Renner and keep the story going? The revelations of The Bourne Ultimatum gave them their credible in as far as narrative went, but how about the action? Can new director Tony Gilroy maintain the adrenaline-fueled pace Greengrass set?
The trailer below is reassuring, but to be fair, from these clips, it doesn't seem to have the same punch.
Perhaps the most worrying thing about this trailer is right after we here Ed Norton's voice for the first time, and then the trailer lingers oddly on his face, as if to say "Look! Ed Norton's in this film too!" I've no problem with Ed Norton being added to the team pursuing the Bourne character, but, and call it over-analysis if you want, that odd extra pause on his face makes it seem like Norton has some creative say in how things are cut.Norton knows his stuff, but the past films where Norton has had the option of creative control have had lots of problems in the editing room.
Moving on, let's be very clear about something, the legitimacy of continuing this franchise without the established lead actor requires certain other presences (and not just Norton). It's no wonder the supporting cast is filled out with David Strathairn, Joan Allen, and Albert Finney - the three faces that had become the films' primary representation of the administrative side of Treadstone. Without them, setting up the premise of "Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg" would feel like a desperate attempt at continuation, but with them the sequel becomes the next logical part of the story. But again, as it relates to Ed Norton, you can't help but wonder if Allen and Strathairn are here purely to hand off the torch. That would be a shame, but it wouldn't be out of the question.
Nevermind that the Albert Finney part of the storyline set up the Bourne program, but if you remember back to The Bourne Identity when they sent wave after wave of other Treadstone agents after Bourne when he went rogue in France, then suddenly having a huge pantheon of agents to draw upon for new stories makes a lot of sense. Granted, the people sent to kill Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum may also have been Treadstone, but it was never as obvious as when the agent played by Clive Owen had his dying conversation with Bourne in the first film.
So the premise holds water, but does the action compare? We only have a few moments to gauge from, and it's possible they've either slowed it down so audiences can take in the trailer without issue or have saved the more impressive moments for later trailers or the film itself, but currently The Bourne Legacy seems to be lacking the sheer speed and brutality that made Greengrass's installments so utterly brilliant to watch. When the bar for action has been set at that level Director Tony Gilroy can't afford to tone it down, because otherwise his film will feel like Jason Bourne-lite. That's not what the franchise needs if it's going to continue for any period of time with Renner.
Also, we're admittedly sad not to have heard Moby's "Extreme Ways" leading in or out of the trailer. That song's intro became synonomous with the series by the end of Ultimatum.
And here's the poster, via Collider
