The Bourne Legacy Review.

Thoughts: As you would know from my reviews of the other Bourne movies, I am a fan of the trilogy. After the many mixed reviews, my expectations for The Bourne Legacy were lowered. However, the movie actually delivered a solid entry in the Bourne franchise.
The story takes place during the events of The Bourne Ultimatum and the story heavily relies on knowledge of the previous Bourne movies. If you have not seen those movies, you will be completely lost. Also if you are not a fan of the other movies, this will not change your opinion of the franchise.
Although The Bourne Legacy is a very good movie, it still suffers from loosing Matt Damon's strong performance and character. Hopefully, Renner and Damon could team up for a possible sequel. Fortunately, The Bourne Legacy did not try to force a romantic sub-plot into the story as the trailer suggests which, would have only slowed down the movie.


Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Genre: Thriller, Spy, Action
Release Date: August 10, 2012
Running Time: 135 minutes
MMPA rating: August 10, 2012


The Good: Solid starting point, Ties into the previous Bourne movie well,

The Bad:




Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is a member of Operation Outcome, one of the Department of Defense's black ops programs. which provides its agents with green pills that enhance physical abilities and blue pills that enhance mental abilities. He is deployed to Alaska for a training assignment, during which he pretends to lose his supply of pills in order to get more, and meets another Outcome operative, Number Three (Oscar Isaac). Number Three and Cross, codenamed "Number Five", lodge up in a cabin, but a blizzard prevents them from returning to civilization.
Meanwhile, Jason Bourne exposes Operation Blackbriar and the Treadstone Project, leading to CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Operation Blackbriar supervisor Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) being investigated by the FBI. Upon learning of this, CIA Director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn), also under investigation, calls Eric Byer (Edward Norton), a retired USAF Colonel responsible for overseeing the CIA's clandestine operations, for help.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.



Plot: 8.2/10- The story sets of the character Aaron Cross, while simultaneously tying some of the loose ends left by The Bourne Ultimatum. The concept worked, although it could have been slightly better and there are still some unanswered questions.





Action: 8.0/10- While the action is framed and choreographed well, it is sporadic throughout the movie. There does not seem to be quite enough action, it also lacked an impressive one-on-one hand-to-hand fight. During one point of the movie, there was an opportunity for an awesome action scene but it never turned into what you wanted.



Acting: 8.1/10- Jeremy Renner gave a fine performance, but he is no match for Matt Damon in the lead role. Rachel Weisz's performance was solid and her character was fortunately used as a plot device and not a forced romantic sub-plot. Edward Norton was a little under used, but still effective. The other performances in the movie were mostly forgettable.



Special effects: N/A-



Soundtrack: 8.3/10- James Newton Howard's score was great and complimented the film well. Every time Jason Bourne was reference, the classic Bourne theme was used brilliantly.


Comedy: N/A- A few humorous lines.



Would I Watch This Again: Although I will not be buying the Blu-Ray/DVD, I will re-watch the movie.


Should You Watch in Theaters: In terms of "Must See on the Big Screen" content, there is very little. If you are a fan of the series and have recently watched them you should enjoy the movie. Just know that it is not as good as the other movies, it really just expands upon the Bourne story. If you are a Bourne fan and really want to see what happens next, I would recommend the matinee price.


Overall: 8.3/10- Overall, The Bourne Legacy is an underrated, solid entry in the Bourne franchise, yet it never comes close to matching the original Bourne movies.


Closing comments: If you are a Bourne fan you should enjoy The Bourne Legacy, however if you did not like the other Bourne movies Legacy will not change your opinion. Also I really hope that the movie will get a sequel.


Recommended for: Spy movie fans, Matt Damon fans, Action movie fans, Suspense movie fans, Thriller movie fans,

Click here to check out more of my movie reviews.

If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Bourne Legacy: Review Round-Up.

I have been looking forward to The Bourne Legacy since hearing about because I liked the other Bourne movies and Jeremy Renner was great as Hawkeye in The Avengers. However from the reviews, The Bourne Legacy looks like it is not going to be very good.

Chris Stuckmann: C: Stuckmann said that the movie only had 10 minutes of action in the whole movie! He is a fan of the original Bourne movies and was very disappointed with this one.

  

Jeremy Jahns: You Won't remember it in T-minus 2 Days: That rating from Jeremy basically means that it is a OK movie but nothing special.

Rotten Tomatoes: 60%: Rotten Tomatoes' reviews are not looking all that great right now, here is what they said.

"It isn't quite as compelling as the earlier trilogy, but The Bourne Legacy proves the franchise has stories left to tell -- and benefits from Jeremy Renner's magnetic work in the starring role."

IGN: 6.0/10: IGN.com is not the best review website because of they are not consistent with their reviews and even gave The Amazing Spider-Man just because they thought it was too soon to remake the movies. But IGN might be right on this one.

Schmoes Know: 3.2/5 and 3.8/5: One of the Schomoes was disappointed by the movie to some degree, but the other enjoyed it.

  

Because I already have half-off tickets that I need to use before they expire, I might go see The Bourne Legacy since there are not any other movies out that I would want to see. Also do you recommend any movies that are currently out in theaters other than The Dark Knight Rises or is coming soon.

If you have not read my reviews for the previous Bourne movies, please click on the link below and check the out.

The Bourne Identity Review.
The Bounre Supremacy Review.
The Bourne Ultimatum Review.

If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Bounre Supremacy Review.

Thoughts: The Bourne Supremacy takes place two years after the events of The Bourne Identity, but I will not give away any spoilers for either the film. The movie opens and within 10 minutes there is a very unexpected plot twist and impressive car chase, which sets up well for the rest of the movie. New director Paul Greengrass, offers a different style of action in movie. Some of the movie had a little too much shaky cam, which can be distracting at time, but overall it adds to the intensity of the action. Although he would much improve in the next installment of the franchise The Bourne Ultimatum, which I will be reviewing tomorrow. The Bourne Supremacy dialogue has long sequences without any dialogue, while it does add to plot some, those parts tend to drag. Also the movie is a little rushed just to set up for the next movie, which it does well in that aspect, and some of the intrigue that was present in The Bourne Identity is not here in The Supremacy. However, the last 20 minutes of the film is riveting and intense, and ending perfectly yet not like you would expect from an action movie. Something new that was added to Supremacy is how Bourne out smarts the CIA, which is great and suspenseful to watch. Again Jason Bourne is a great character still trying to discover his true identity and that overall theme works very in the movie.

Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Genre: Action, Espionage, Thriller, Suspense, Spy,
Release date: July 23, 2004 (2004-07-23)
Running Time: 108 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: One of the best car chases ever (possibly the best), Great action, Shocking plot twist in the beginning, Fantastic ending,

The Bad: A little too rushed, Somewhat dull dialogue,



Plot: The Bourne Supremacy takes place two years after the end of the The Bourne Identity. We can't tell you the plot for the movie because it will spoil The Bourne Identity


Plot: 8.4/10- The Bourne Supremacy's plot is very good and sets up well for the next movie but some of the other aspects did not worked as well as the previous movie.

Action: 9.1/10- Despite some over use of shaky cam during the hand-to-hand fight scenes, the car chase is fantastic. One of the best ever filmed.

Acting: 8.3/10- Matt Damon was great again but there really was not as much acting except for Damon as in the previous movies.

Special effects: N/A- Good stunt driving and hand-to-hand fighting but no real special effects.

Soundtrack: 8.4/10- As with The Bounre Identity, the score adds an eerie tone to the film, which is very effective.

Comedy: N/A

Would I Watch This Again: When I re-watch The Bounre Trilogy again, I will obviously re-watch the movie.

Overall: 8.6/10- Although it might not be quite as good as The Bourne Identity, The Bounre Supremacy is a solid sequel.


Closing comments: Despite a few more flaws than the previous entry, The Bourne Supremacy offers some great action and thrills that should please fans.


Recommended for: Spy movie fans, Matt Damon fans, Action movie fans, Espionage fans, Thriller fans, Suspense fans,

If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Bourne Identity Review.

Because The Borune Legacy is coming to theaters this Friday, so it seemed like a good time to re-watch review The Bourne Trilogy before the movie one is released.

Thoughts: I had previously watched The Bourne Trilogy for the first time about this time last year and I very much enjoyed them. The Borune Identity is a refreshing smart take on the action movie genre, with more intrigue and mystery than most other action movies. Also the tone and direction is darker and more realistic than other movies yet never sacrificing it for well filmed action scenes. At this point in Matt Damon's career he was not known as action movie star and many believed that he could not play the role but it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Because Bourne does not know who he is, it adds a slight mystery element to the movie. There have been so many other films trying to copy the direction style of the Borune movies with the shaky-cam and overall tone but little to none have actually succeeded. Although The Bourne Identity does not have quite the amount of action than the sequels have, Doug Liman's style was perfect to set the stage for bigger louder sequels. Like most action movies, there are some unrealistic scenes that draw you out of the movie more because of how real the rest of the feels.


Directed by: Doug Liman
Genre: Action, Espionage, Thriller, Suspense, Spy,
Release date: June 14, 2002
Running Time: 118 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13


The Good: Redefined action movies, Excellent action scenes, Original concept, Great tone and direction, Unique compared to other action movies,

The Bad:





Plot: The following plot summery is copied from Wikipedia.com.  An Italian fishing boat crew working off the coast of Marseille, France finds an unconscious man (Matt Damon) adrift in the Mediterranean with two gunshot wounds in his back. When he wakes up, the man comes to realize he suffers from retrograde amnesia, having only one clue to his identity: the account number to a safe deposit box provided by a tiny laser projector surgically implanted in his hip. He then travels to Zürich, Switzerland to find the corresponding bank account, the man discovers he is skilled in advanced hand-to-hand combat, and fluent in German, when he instinctively defends himself from two policemen questioning him for loitering in a closed park at night.
The man arrives at the bank the next morning and finds the deposit box contains a significant amount of cash in differing currencies and several passports with his photo, but with numerous aliases. He assumes the identity on the topmost passport, "Jason Bourne," and leaves as a bank employee notifies a CIA Special Activities Division group, "Operation Treadstone," about his visit. Bourne evades the Zürich police and flees to the embassy, where he is accosted by the officials there but once again manages to elude capture. A few blocks away, he approaches Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) and offers her US$20,000 to take him to Paris to the address on his "Bourne" passport.
Meanwhile, back at CIA headquarters Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper), the head of Treadstone, reveals to his supervisor, Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), that Bourne was the covert operative responsible for a failed assassination attempt on African dictator Nykwana Wombosi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Intending to sever all connections between the CIA and Wombosi, Conklin sends three highly-trained "assets" (assassins) to eliminate Bourne. Bourne and Marie arrive at the apartment in Paris, where he finds that one of his aliases, "John Michael Kane," was supposedly killed two weeks ago. The first asset, code-named "Castel" (Nicky Naude), ambushes them but Bourne subdues him after a brief fight. Marie checks Castel's bag and panics when she discovers a hit list package with photos of CCTV footage of her and Bourne at the embassy the day before. As Bourne tries to calm her down Castel escapes and jumps out the window to his death before Bourne can learn anything else. Watch the movie to see what happens next.




Plot: 9.0/10- The movie is intriguing right from the start, and watching Bourne try to discover his true identity is very entertaining. Although most anytime it’s cut to the CIA, it is not near as interesting or well acted as watching Bourne. The only real cliché is that he just happens to meet a woman so they can have a romance story thrown in but it was handled well.



Action: 8.9/10- The action is intense and this is one of the few movies that actually use shaky-cam to great effect. The speed of the fight choreography is amazing and how everything just works so well and fluently is amazing. Also the car chase was very impressive although a little unrealistic.



Acting: 8.4/10- Matt Damon gave an excellent believable performance but Franka Potente was a little annoying at times and it did not match Damon's acting skills. Although of the other actors gave solid performances.



Special effects: N/A-



Soundtrack: 8.5/10- The score compliments the action and espionage very well and the faster pace tracks added to the action scenes.


Comedy: N/A
 

Would I Watch This Again: Most definitely, although I had already known the mystery on this second viewing of the movie. It was still very entertaining to watch and pick up on hints that I had previous not noticed.


Overall: 9.0/10- The Bourne Identity is a perfect starting point for the franchise with enough set-ups and thrills to make a top notch action thriller.


Closing comments: The Bourne Identity is an intense and original thrill ride full of intrigue that would influence action movies for years to come.

Recommended for: Spy movie fans, Matt Damon fans, Action movie fans, Espionage fans, Thriller fans, Suspense fans,

New Bounre Legacy Trailer.

As I said in my previous post about the Bounre Legacy. The original Bourne trilogy is one of my favorite action spy thrillers and I highly recommend watching the trilogy. After watching The Avengers and Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, I am even more confident that Jeremy Renner will be awesome as the new "Bourne". Something I noticed about this trailer is that the previous Borune movies are directly connected to Legacy, except without Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Unfortunately Paul Greengrass will not be returning as director and Tony Gilroy will be directing The Bourne Legacy. I am really excited about The Bourne Legacy and I cannot wait to see it.

What do you think of the trailer? Have you seen the previous Bounre movies, if so please post a comment below, which is your favorite. My favorite is The Bourne Ultimatum.

Update: "Epic Film Score and More" has been moved to Sunday.

If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Bourne Legacy Trailer!

We were going to continue with the 30 movie challenge but there is another awesome trailer that has come out. The Bourne Legacy! It is kind of a sequel to the original Bourne Trilogy except without Matt Damon. Last year we have become big fans of The Bourne Movies so we are excited to see this. And you might recognize the guy in the trailer he is Jeremy Renner, who will be playing Hawkeye in The Avengers. From all the amazing trailers 2012 might be the best year ever for movies. And after the past year that will be hard to do. If you want to know morw about The Bourne Trilogy click on the links below to check out our reviews for the movies. Have you seen the original Bourne Trilogy? Do you plan to see The Bounre Legacy? Please leave a comment.

The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy review.
The Bourne Ultimatum review.