The ‘Bourne Legacy’ Helps Us Remember The Worst Amnesia Plotlines

The Bourne Legacy finally opens today, reigniting the Bourne franchise into a new direction with Jeremy Renner at the helm, replacing Matt Damon as a spy who has to outrun a lot of people all the time because of something from his past. While the first three films hinged on Jason Bourne's amnesia, it's still unclear from trailers if Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross will suffer a similar disability, but if history has taught us anything, it's to steer clear from forgetting.

Few films like Bourne and Memento were able to take a cliched trop like amnesia and use it to help tell their story. But most movies and TV shows are a lot more lazy and use amnesia because they can't think of anything else to do in order to move the plot more convincingly. It's one step away from the ever-dreaded coma-fantasy. How many epic groans have their been across homes in America when a hugely dramatic moment on your favorite TV show is ruined when suddenly the character opens their eyes and says oh-so-melodramatically, 'I...I can't remember.' Blech.

Check out the gallery for our favorite movies and TV shows ruined by amnesia.