The Bourne Legacy (2012)

The Bourne Legacy Movie

Taglines: There was never just one.

A reporter of The Guardian that is writing articles about the Operations Treadstone and Blackbriar is murdered and the American Senate Committee investigates the participation of the CIA directors and responsible for the programs. CIA Director Ezra Kramer summons the retired USAF Colonel Eric Byer to clean the mess and he discovers a Youtube video with the responsible for the Treadstone and Outcome Operations together in a public event.

Eric Byer decides to shutdown the Outcome Operation, a defense program that uses green and blue pills to enhance the physical and mental capabilities of the agents since the Senate investigation would certainly discover the connection between the operations. Byer orders to kill the Outcome agents, including Aaron Cross that is training in Alaska, using a drone to track a sensor implanted in Aaron’s leg, but he puts the device in a wolf that is destroyed.

Byer believes that Cross is dead and he uses Dr. Donald Foite to kill his colleagues in the research center; however Dr. Marta Shearing flees from the attempt and survives. When Dr. Shearing is attacked by CIA killers in her house, Aaron Cross saves her expecting to get the pills. Soon Cross learns that he does not need the green pills anymore, only the blue ones, and he travels with Dr. Shearing to the Philippines, where the blue pills are manufactured. When Byer finds that they are in the Philippines, he sends an assassin to hunt them down.

The Bourne Legacy Movie - Rachel Weisz
The Bourne Legacy Movie – Rachel Weisz

The Bourne Legacy is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by Tony Gilroy, and is the fourth installment in the series of films adapted from the Jason Bourne novels originated by Robert Ludlum and continued by Eric Van Lustbader, being preceded by The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Although this film has the same title as Van Lustbader’s first Bourne novel, The Bourne Legacy, the actual screenplay bears little resemblance to the novel. Unlike the novel, which features Jason Bourne as the principal character, the film centers on black ops agent Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner), an original character. In addition to Renner, the film stars Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton.

The titular character Jason Bourne does not appear in The Bourne Legacy, as actor Matt Damon chose not to return for the fourth film, due to Paul Greengrass not directing. Bourne is shown in pictures and mentioned by name several times throughout the film. Tony Gilroy, co-screenwriter of the first three films, sought to continue the story of the film series without changing its key events, and parts of The Bourne Legacy take place at the same time as the previous film, The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Taking place during the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, Aaron Cross is a member of a black ops program called Operation Outcome whose subjects are genetically enhanced. He must run for his life once former CIA Treadstone agent Jason Bourne’s actions lead to the public exposure of Operation Treadstone and its successor Operation Blackbriar.

Filming was primarily in New York City, with some scenes shot in the Philippines, South Korea, Pakistan, and Canada. Released on August 10, 2012, the film received mixed reviews, with critics praising the story, James Newton Howard’s score, and Renner’s performance, but expressing disappointment in Matt Damon’s absence, as well as the lack of shaky camera work (a key element of Greengrass’ directorial style) that the second and third films had used. The film was followed in 2016 by Jason Bourne, in which Damon and Greengrass reprised their earlier roles.

The Bourne Legacy Movie Poster

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Donna Murphy, Stacy Keach, Scott Glenn, Howard Leader, Tony Guida, Sonnie Brown, Alice Gainer, Neil Brooks Cunningham, Corey Stoll
Screenplay by: Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy
Production Design by: Kevin Thompson
Cinematography by: Robert Elswit
Film Editing by: John Gilroy
Costume Design by: Shay Cunliffe
Set Decoration by: Paul Healy, Leslie E. Rollins
Art Direction by: Molly Hughes, Charlie Campbell …
Music by: James Newton Howard
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence and action sequences.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: August 10, 2012

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