BOURNE LEGACY: A REVIEW

One quality of movies that I really like is when I feel like the whole movie is one big climax. I’ve first felt that with The Dark Knight, and now with Bourne Legacy.

I haven’t seen the first three movies by the way (I know, I know shame on me) so this review’s gonna be from the perspective of someone who hasn’t seen the rest of the films in the Bourne franchise. I know the plots though coz I did my research before watching the film so don’t worry.

Although the film is a continuation of the Bourne franchise, the fact that the plot is not about Jason Bourne made it easier for “new-Bournes” like me to understand the film. The movie can stand on it’s own, and you don’t need to have been able to watch the first three films for you to understand and appreciate it.

Jeremy Renner was very believable as a genetically enhanced super undercover agent, and he played his part well. His airy depiction Aaron Cross is a refresher from Jason Bourne whose character has become heavily emotional as the franchise progressed.

Even though I liked the movie, there was nothing fancy about the plot. There weren’t any mind-boggling twists or anything special with the storyline. It’s a typical movie of a super-skilled (yeah I like using the word “super”) guy versus powerful organization. Bad-ass hero with a hot chick against the world – that’s it.

I was really excited about the scenes shot in the Philippines so when Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) said that the chems they needed are manufactured in Manila, I know things are going to be more relatable. It was fun to see familiar faces in a Hollywood film.

Here’s a bonus: Joel Torre and Art Acuña were actually in the film, although they only got split-second parts to play. Joel was the guy who helped the lady who spilled her oranges when Aaron and Dr. Marta were escaping from the police in the streets of Manila. You can hardly see his face! Art on the other hand was the driver in one of the cars who got hit by Larx-03 during the chase scene.

When the scenes shot in Manila started my buddies and I kept on smiling and giggling as we recognize familiar places and as we savored the weird feeling of seeing both Hollywood and Philippine elements in one film.  However, we were having so much fun and excitement with Manila scenes to the point that it’s not the plot or the action scenes that we were enjoying but the feeling of familiarity and eagerness to see how Manila will be shown in the movie. Not a bad thing though because it added to the whole movie experience. Hey, the point here is to get entertained.

It was even more exciting for me because I actually saw the shooting of the escape scene near the LRT. I also remember being late for my sister’s graduation because one of the roads we have to pass through has been closed for the shooting.

Most of the scenes shot in Manila showed the informal settlers area, which is not exactly how we wanted to have our country portrayed in Hollywood. Good thing though the movie ended with a scene from El Nido, Palawan, where we got to showcase one of our natural beauties.

Ah, speaking of how the movie ended, it’s always the biggest issue of whoever I ask about the film. It was an abrupt ending. Even I was expecting more to come and just got surprised when the credits started showing. But then, of course this makes us think that it’s okay to expect a fifth Bourne movie.

Do you think there should be a fifth installment to the Bourne franchise? Or are we already tired of all the hide and seek?