The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Legacy (2012) is the fourth film in the series and Jason Bourne is not in it. The premise: once what happened in the first three films becomes public the programme is exposed, and the agency decides to shut every similar project down. The method of shutting down is killing the agents. One, Aaron Cross, survives and runs. So this is not a continuation but the same events seen from another room. The third film's events are happening in the background here. Tony Gilroy had written the first three; this time he also directed. Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass had declined to return. Cross differs in one way: his performance depends on medication and he will lose his ability when it runs out. All the tension comes from that clock. Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz star. The chase through Manila is among the best action in the series. The problem is the ending: the film stops without arriving anywhere, and the continuation never came. Greengrass's handheld camera is gone; Gilroy shoots more steadily, which struck some viewers as disconnected from the series. It runs 135 minutes. Good for: spy action and followers of the series. Less good for: it is confusing without the earlier films and the ending is unfinished.