Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton star in The Bourne Legacy trailer

Brad Sturdivant June 1st, 2012

Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy

I’ve been a staunch naysayer of THE BOURNE LEGACY since it was first announced and as I was watching the first full length trailer for the film, I started wondering if I was going to have to eat my words. I found myself liking Jeremy Renner in the role and enjoying the intensity of the trailer. Then I had to pause and think about it and I realized that the moments in the trailer I got most excited about were the ones where they mentioned “Jason Bourne”, culminating in the best part of the film when they showed Matt Damon’s picture on a TV. So as I reflect on that for a second, let me point out that it was a good idea of the filmmakers to pay homage to the first three films, which also leaves the door open for Matt Damon to return at any time. I know they promised that before they started shooting, but it’s still nice to see. But let me also point out that it’s not a good sign that the only thing some people are going to remember from the film’s trailer is a mention of a character that won’t even be appearing in the film.

But don’t let me dissuade you from being excited for the film. It looks like it will have plenty of action and seems to follow the mold of the first three films pretty closely, complete with spastic editing and action sequences that make it impossible to see what’s going on. It also looks like Jeremy Renner does a pretty good job, but I’m not sure people will forget about Matt Damon just yet. Along with Renner, THE BOURNE LEGACY is set to star Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, Joan Allen, Oscar Isaac, Stacy Keach and Scott Glenn. The Tony Gilroy directed film hits theaters on August 3rd.