Bourne Legacy

[SurfD]

So, saw this on Saturday night and I have to say, while it was a fairly good popcorn action flick, it unfortunately rates a resounding MEH from me from a story / plot perspective.

My biggest gripe is that absolutely fucking NOTHING meaningful at all happens during the story.  Nothing.  The entire movie is pretty much a "Meanwhile, over there" sideplot to the Matt Damon Jason Bourne movies that follows around some random guy from one of the government soldier projects.   None of the major important plot points or twists from the other Bourne movies are really resolved or clairified, no new major plot twists are added, and the ending just screams "lol stay tuned next time to find out where we were going with this".   I mean, hell, the way the movie was set up, the whole thing could have been a 2 hour pilot episode for a Bourne based TV series spinoff, and it would have made much more sense.

Also, it may just be me, but the ending REALLY bugs me:

[Rendakor]

I pretty much agree with you, except I don't even think it was all that good of an action movie. The motorcycle chase scene near the end was the only really intense bit; the rest of the action scenes were spoiled heavily by the trailer, and they were neither long nor frequent enough for an action movie. I spent the whole movie waiting for Hawkeye to run into Bourne and have them kick some ass together or something, but it just didn't happen.

[K9]

I gave up all hope on this one when the trailer implied that the treadstone soldiers were genetically modified.

[Pennilenko]

Shoot, everything already said aside. I never could figure out why they deviated from the books so much. Other than a handful of names and organizational references the movies have nothing to do with the books. That has impeded my enjoyment of the movies heavily.

[Ubvman]

I gave up all hope on this one when the trailer implied that the treadstone soldiers were genetically modified.

Well I kind of liked the way they explained the science of the super-soldier thing that they were doing; genetically modifying the soldiers with virus and such. I liked Rachel Weisz in the movie. But really - they might as well make a whole new movie franchise rather than tacking it on to the Bourne series.

[SurfD]

I got the impression from the movie that the Treadstone guys were unmodified, and it was the Outcome projects (and further Iterations down the line) that were being Genetically treated.

[Llyse]

I enjoyed it as an action movie but yeah not much linkage with the original Bourne Trilogy.

When you ask why deviate from the books in what aspect? The plotline? Or the setting of the Vietnam War veteran and espionage in the 70s/80s?

[eldaec]

I could swear I have seen that exact same scene somewhere else, but I just cant place it.

I thought the same. Man with the Golden Gun possibly?

Anyway, I saw this earlier in the week. Felt like it was about 15 hours long. And as others have pointed out, nothing happened.

Also, found I was rooting for Ed Norton's team. Unlike Renner/Weisz, they kill no innocent bystanders and destroy no third party property, they aren't part of a secret murderdeathkill programme, don't make biological weapons or mind control drugs, and don't appear to be a clear threat to the public at large.

Since we are at it, why are the bad guys (Ed Norton and co.) so incredibly stupid?

The whole movie makes more sense if you assume they are the good guys, fighting the power and trying to shut down the CIA's secret assassin monster programmes from the inside, on the grounds that they are retarded and illegal.

The only evidence you have that they are the bad guys is that Rachel Weisz is hot and Ed Norton works in an office.

[SurfD]

I could swear I have seen that exact same scene somewhere else, but I just cant place it.

I thought the same. Man with the Golden Gun possibly?

So, I was chatting with someone who had just watched this at my theatre, and get this: Appearently the ending that bugged me so much? They had the same feeling, and they could swear it was copied from, get this, a PREVIOUS BOURNE MOVIE.   I have no real desire to check the validity of that, but man, if that is true, talk about lazy copout.

[NowhereMan]

I haven't read any of the books or watched any of the other Bourne films but I did go to see this with my dad (who has seen the other movies but true to family form was utterly lost in terms of figuring out what was going on. I harbour a strong suspicion that some point after the age of 50 I will no longer be able to understand any movie with a plot more sophisticated than ID4). The film felt like utter filler, coming from someone who hasn't seen what it's meant to be filler for. Nothing of any importance happens,  here is the whole plot: It was such an utter waste of time.

In terms of the ending, it left me thinking of Tomorrow Never Dies. Maybe just being another Bond film involving South East Asia?

As far as Ed Norton's team being the good guys: