When the government decides to wipe out its secret agent programs, Aaron Cross is left alone in the Alaskan wilderness with no way to refill the pills that keep him sharp. He teams up with a scientist and runs. Gilroy spends as much time on the people in offices as on the chases.
The Bourne Legacy is a 2012 action, thriller and adventure film directed by Tony Gilroy. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 editing, 1 narrative and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Die Hard uses several of the same techniques.
Alternating between simultaneous lines of action in different places or worlds. The cuts build suspense or draw a comparison between the threads.
How this film uses it
The film keeps cutting between Cross in the wilderness and the officials in Washington who are shutting down the program. The two lines show the same problem from opposite ends. Cross is a loose end, and the office is where that loose end gets decided.
Where to see it
Alaska and Washington. Cross survives a drone strike while the officials back home decide to erase the program.
Building an action sequence as a chain where each solution creates a new problem. The layout of the space stays clear, so the escalation follows its own logic.
How this film uses it
Each move in the Manila chase makes a new problem. Cross and Marta get out of the factory, a pursuer follows them through the streets and the rooftops, and each escape leaves them in a worse spot. The layout stays clear, so you always know where everyone is.
Where to see it
The Manila chase. A super soldier follows Cross and Marta through the city streets, and it ends with him dead and Cross wounded.
Building the story around a clear deadline the hero must beat. The time pressure and the obstacles grow with each scene until the climax.
How this film uses it
Cross needs his pills, and his supply is running out. That gives the whole film a deadline built into his body. Every stop he makes is about getting closer to the thing that will keep him alive.
Where to see it
The Maryland house. Cross, running low on his enhancements, goes to Marta's home and fights off the assassins sent for her.
Filming in recognizable real places so the setting acts like part of the cast. Streets, buildings and landscapes shape the mood of the story.
How this film uses it
The Alaska scenes were shot in Alberta, Canada, and the Manila scenes were filmed in the Philippines. The cold and empty wilderness at the start and the packed streets later give the story two very different kinds of danger.
Where to see it
Cross in the wilderness. Alone in the mountains, he fights to survive after the drone attack.
Questions
The Bourne Legacy: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does The Bourne Legacy use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Bourne Legacy (2012): Parallel Crosscutting, Kinetic Set Piece Architecture, Ticking Clock Structure and Real Locations as Character.
Who directed The Bourne Legacy?
Tony Gilroy directed The Bourne Legacy, released in 2012. CineCode also covers Michael Clayton (2007).
What films are similar to The Bourne Legacy?
Films that share techniques with The Bourne Legacy include Die Hard (1988), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), All the Money in the World (2017), Minority Report (2002).
