CNNGo features ‘The Bourne Legacy’ tour of Manila

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Want to relive the journey of The Bourne Legacy stars and crew through the crowded streets of the capital and bask in the stunning scenes of idylic El Nido?

The CNN travel site CNNGo lists all the locations in the Philippines where key scenes of the action-packed movie were shot, offering a route for those who want to personally check them out. (Read the entire story on CNN here.)

Manila is the latest city to have been featured in the films based on the Robert Ludlum spy action thriller series involving a rogue CIA assassin initially played by Matt Damon.

Now the the star is Jeremy Renner, who as agent Aaron Cross travels in the movie to Alaska, Washington D.C., New York and, of course, the Philippines, where the film crew spent 45 shooting days.

San Andres in Manila City 

The San Andres market is where movie’s the chase scenes begins. The hide-and-seek scenes between Aaron and Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) and Filipino cops here is considered the highlight of the action-packed movie.

The stuntmen practiced in a rented parking lot how to drive through the rooftops of the low-to-middle income neighborhood aboard motorcycles.

About 5-minute walk from the San Andres market is Remedios Circle, a 1980-era bohemian location that remains a backpacker’s choice to this day.

A chase scene between cops and Marta reaches a dead end at a narrow alley called “the chasm,” a vacant lot across Remedios Circle.  

Jones Bridge

Jones Bridge in Manila City is where the film shows motorcycle police pursuing operative Larx-03 (Louis Ozawa Changchien), who jumps on one of the bikes and throws cops off his trail.

Cross then takes his bike up the stairs, across the bridge and down the stair rail on the other side.

Marikina public market

At the public market of Marikina City, the country’s “shoe capital,” Aaron shoots at Larx, who crashes his motorcycle onto a fruit and vegetable stall.

CNNGo descibed the market as an “un-airconditioned” grocery store because of its sanitary standards, and is closed regularly for cleaning.

Navotas Fish Port

Larx hits a concrete post, and Aaron and Marta’s motorcycle skids, at the Navotas Fish Port. In the movie, a fisherman sees them, and they ask him for help.

The film crew took over the port during the shoot, and replaced parts of the roof to let enough natural light in.

They also had to scrub down the floors every day to make sure nobody slipped on fish guts.

El Nido, Palawan

The cast and crew stayed in the Miniloc Resort, one of the islets that feature luxury accomodation in El Nido, a resort town in northern Palawan.

The location chosen for the ending is “the most beautiful place I’ve been to,” said director Tony Gilroy. El Nido features postcard-like limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, hidden lagoons, and crystal clear blue waters.

Edward Norton, who plays the main antagonist in Cross’ life as Ret. Col. Eric Byer (a new character like Cross and Shearing), was said to have shot scenes in Manila and El Nido, but none were included in this movie series’ 4th installment.  

The Bourne Legacy‘s abrupt ending in El Nido is a clue to Bourne fans that, perhaps, Renner’s Aaron Cross will be back in a sequel. 

CNNGo points out that The Bourne Legacy is the first Hollywood film to include the Philippines in location credits after the country has been “portrayed” as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and even South American countries in the past.

Will we still see the Philippines in the next movie? We’ll just have to wait and see. – Rappler.com