Ranking The Bourne Movie Franchise From Worst To Best

5. The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner was always facing an uphill battle from the moment he signed on to replace Matt Damon (no matter how insistent the studio - and Damon - were that replacement wasn't the agenda). It also didn't help his cause that he's still not quite as interesting a lead man as he is a supporting one.

Legacy isn't actually a terrible idea: focusing on some of the other assets in another shady government programme (called Outcome) that uses drugs to turn their guinea pigs into super soldiers. Bourne's exposing of Operations Blackbriar and Treadstone make Renner's Aaron Cross expendable, and from there we get an intriguing idea played out in frustratingly wayward fashion.

It's too bland despite the action, and it tries way too hard to over-explain everything when it isn't really necessary. And as good as the chems plot is, the progression of it is ludicrous, and it feels a little like twisting the narrative for the sake of it.

Despite the film's struggles, it would still be good to see Cross and Bourne together on screen: they would have friction, would guarantee a lot of action and we could see a redemption of sorts for Renner.