The Bourne Legacy (Rhoades)

“Bourne Legacy”

Creates False Memory

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

A fan of spy thrillers, I’ve read all three “Jason Bourne” novels by the late Robert Ludlum. All of them were adapted into wham-bam action movies featuring Matt Damon as the CIA assassin with amnesia.

Universal Pictures originally intended 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum” to be the final film in the series, but development of another film was under way by the end of 2008.

So what to do when you’ve run out of books and your star has decided not to reprise the role?

In Hollywood, you hire a team of writers to do a script that’s not closely based on “The Bourne Legacy,” a later book written by Eric Van Lustbader. And you audition every eligible leading man from Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire to Michael Fassbender and Chris Evans – then hire Jeremy Renner.

Despite the film’s title, the hero here is another CIA assassin named Aaron Cross. After Bourne dismantled Operation Blackbriar in the last film, the CIA decides to close down related black ops programs such as Operation Outcome and terminate (we’re not talking about pink slips) those agents. However, Cross is too skillful to get killed and he hooks up with an Outreach scientist to expose his higher ups.

Rachel Weisz joins Renner as the scientist, and Ed Norton plays the bad guy. Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, David Straithaim, and Albert Finney reprise their roles so you’ll think there is continuity with the previous films. If that’s not enough, they flash Matt Damon’s picture and refer to Jason Bourne.

“The Bourne Legacy” is currently making pulses quicken at the Tropic.

Directed by Tony Gilroy (who wrote the screenplays for the first three Bourne films), this thriller gives a new life to the franchise. And rumor has it that Damon might return to team up with Renner in a future “Bourne” movie.

But, of course, there’s the same rumor about the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, that Tom Cruise may return to team up with Renner.

Does this make Renner the go-to boogeyman for stars getting tired of their series? Who knows, Renner may next show up in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4” or “Step Up 5” or “James Bond 25.”

srhoades@aol.com