I like action. I like characters with mad spy and fight skills because they’re on the run from the elite secret force that trained them and/or the lab where they were genetically engineered. I like Dark Angel, obviously.  But I also like The Bourne movies! So I’m pretty sure I’ll be liking this…

Matt Damon kicked off the series as Jason Bourne, a former CIA assassin suffering from extreme memory loss. In the first film he was trying to find out where he came from, then he moved to the seaside with his ladylove, then he was being framed for murder or something, the lady was killed, he was out for revenge.  Etc, etc.  Who needs to get bogged down in back-story when it comes to action?  What matters is that Damon said he wasn’t going to be Bourne again without director Paul Greengrass. And so now here’s Jeremy Renner starring in the Bourne quadrilogy.

The Bourne Legacy picks up after the conclusion of The Bourne Ultimatum, with a new cast of characters who are dealing with the consequences of Jason’s actions.

Going by the teaser trailer, this could be called ‘Kenneth from Reno’ for how thin the link is to Bourne.  But still – it looks good. I’m such a Jeremy Renner fan after Hurt Locker, and I don’t think you can go past Edward Norton.

But what’s an Outcome Agent? Would you watch a Bourne film without a Bourne? How good was Dark Angel?

The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films.

Renner joins fellow series newcomers Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom), Edward Norton (Fight Club), Stacy Keach (American History X) and Oscar Isaac (Drive), while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles.

The Bourne Legacy hits New Zealand cinemas on August 16 this year, after premiering in the USA on August 3.