The first pictures of Jeremy Renner on set for the newest Bourne movie have hit the net. I'm posting this one but I just don't know how I feel about the whole thing!
First it's NOT based on a book and, ya know, that's what I do here. Talk about films based on books. And even though it's called
The Bourne Legacy, Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne character isn't actually in it. Ludlum wrote three Bourne books,
Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and
Bourne Ultimatum and Matt Damon was in the film versions of all three and he is irreplaceable. (By the way, check out the collars in the pictures of both Jeremy Renner and Matt Damon and tell me if Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross character isn't a Bourne wannabe???)
Here's what the director, Tony Gilroy had to say about it to
Mania.com
'This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. No one’s replacing Matt Damon.There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter…this is a stand-alone project.
Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he’s very much alive. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens.
I’m building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy… the world we’re making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne’s return.'
Now I just saw Jeremy Renner in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and of course, I remember him from The Hurt Locker. He's a very good actor and has the physical good looks of the job requirement although he seems a little low key. I don't know, I guess I will have to see more of his work.
I read on Metro that he explained his character this way: 'My character is called Aaron Cross, but he ends up having a bunch of different names.
'For fans of the franchise, [The Bourne Legacy] has that same ticking clock, but it's a new program and new characters.
'It's the same tempo and pace but more expansive and bigger. The differences are pretty vast but you'll know it's a Bourne movie.'
So it is a Bourne movie? But Bourne's not in it? Ah, I see. So you took the massive popularity and goodwill created by Ludlum and Damon and are trying to piggyback on its's success. Okay, fair enough, I get it. And for all I know the film will be amazing. But it's confusing. Especially since the Eric Van Lustbader series of Bourne books has one titled The Bourne Legacy and yep, Bourne is in it.
I'm throwing in the towel on this one and will have to ask my Ludlum-lovin husband his opinion. Is a new quasi-Bourne film not based on any real Bourne character better than a film based on a book by a Ludlum-pretender to the throne??? Ludlum fans, please weigh in here!
