The Bourne Series (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum, Legacy, Jason Bourne)

Let’s go back and take a condensed look at the Bourne series.  To give a brief rundown for those unfamiliar the plot follows Jason Bourne who wakes up one day on a French fishing boat with no memory of who he is.  He was found floating in the sea with gunshots in his back.  Eventually he discovers he’s a CIA operative enrolled in a secret program whose main purpose is to assassinate.  Since the guy’s situation is all fucked up now the agency deems him a threat and tries repeatedly to apprehend or kill him.  Bourne goes on the run, slowly remembers his past and uses his internalized skillset to evade and retaliate.

Based on Robert Ludlum’s novels from the 80’s they originally adapted the first installment into a TV miniseries in 1988, then in the 2000’s there were the Matt Damon pictures (plus that Jeremy Renner one), which is what we’ll be covering, and finally there was a spinoff TV show called Treadstone that ran for one season in 2019.

The Bourne Identity

Real good solid spy action thriller.  The story and mystery beats unfold very naturally where one clue or incident logically leads to the next.  They don’t take big leaps that ask too much of the audience.  With this approach it’s so easy to get caught up in the plot.  It’s remarkable how efficiently the filmmakers juggle the unraveling of Bourne’s true identity, his clandestine mission, the inner workings of the agency behind that mission and, of course, a budding romance between Bourne and the woman who helps him along the way (Franka Potente (Run Lola Run)).

Matt Damon (The Brothers Grimm) is terrific as the amnesia plagued government asset.  He balances his confusion, anger, anxiety, drive and stilted tenderness well.  It’s a tough role because he needs to be distant and deadly but also vulnerable and somewhat naïve.  Damon shows off credible action moves to boot so he ended up being a great pick.

If I have one bone to pick it’s that I’ve always found the action to be neat but slightly underwhelming.  It’s a touch choppy with some sped up camera work so it’s not as clear as I would like it to be.  With that said it’s definitely better executed than the unbearable zoomy shaky bullshit employed in the sequels.

This first one was crowned a minor classic when it came out and is probably considered a full-fledged one at this point.   While not the most amazing thing in my opinion, what it does it does well.  The suspense and tension keep ratcheting up making you want to see where the story goes next.  It’s very enjoyable and fun from start to finish.

The Sequels: Supremacy, Ultimatum, Legacy, Jason Bourne

I know it’s weird to lump all the sequels together but they all share the same issues so to prevent this from getting redundant I think it’s appropriate.

Supremacy picks up two years after the events of the first film.  Bourne is living in hiding in India with his girlfriend from Identity.  All of a sudden some Russian asshole is trying to kill them and Bourne needs to figure out why.  More globe trotting, sleuthing and action scenes ensue.  This continues on through Ultimatum which picks up right where Supremacy leaves off and then twelve years later in Jason Bourne.  Legacy is basically a side quest that takes place concurrently with Ultimatum.  It involves a separate CIA assassin in the same program as Bourne named Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters)).  Due to increased public awareness of the covert op the agency decides to cover shit up by terminating anyone linked to it.  Cross proceeds to go on the run, globe trot, sleuth and action shit up.

While fairly watchable I wish I had some positive things to say about parts 2-5.  They don’t work for me on multiple levels.  For starters the sequels unfortunately don’t further the story a ton.  Plot-wise it’s simply the CIA using everything at its disposal to track down Bourne/Cross and take them out.  It’s already established in the first movie that Bourne is part of a larger assassin program with his brethren activated to take him out.  It’s also established that even within the CIA the program is supposed to be sort of a secret so there’s backstabbing and conniving from the start.  Sadly nothing more is uncovered in the sequels.

Bourne’s personal backstory isn’t expanded on very much either.  In total we find out what his actual name is down the line and one other tidbit of history (no spoilers), each with no real bearing on the plot.  Cross’ history amounts to one quick scene explaining he used to be in the military before being recruited.  So the characters don’t grow or evolve almost at all during the series.  It’s so strange that Bourne remains robotic through to the end when he should become more human and empathetic as he tries to shed his past.

Another issue with Bourne/Cross is that they’re too perfect.  Whatever they need to be able to do in any situation they can do.  They can escape any predicament, break into any building, get in contact with whoever they need, speak any language that’s required, spot bad guys no matter where they are or what they’re doing, retrieve any object they need, etc.  Every single circumstance turns out exactly how they predict essentially making them omniscient.  With every goal being easily achievable that makes things kinda boring.

And being indestructible doesn’t help.  Numerous vehicle crashes, explosions, falls from buildings, it doesn’t matter.  They walk away with a limp and a cut on the eyebrow.  Sure, this is par for action films but it becomes difficult to swallow when these characters are also immaculate in every task they set out to do.  It becomes a bridge too far.  There are no stakes then.  If we know they can’t be harmed in any meaningful way and can’t botch any maneuver they make then why should we care about how dangerous the action is?

On top of this the sequels in particular are all shot shakily and chopped to shit so it’s hard to tell what in the hell is going on.  This was a popular style from that time period and has always worked to undercut the menace instead of enhancing it in my opinion.  One last kick in the nuts on this topic is that the filmmakers don’t even get creative with the sequences.  Instead they opt to repeat gags over and over in each installment.  By the time I got to Legacy and Jason Bourne I was completely uninvested.

One more gripe (sorry, I know this is a lot of complaining), travel is yet another area that’s never a hassle.  Bourne/Cross can go anywhere they want without incident.  Their credentials are always good and no one ever recognizes them.  Immigration, customs, Interpol, CIA, no agency can catch them en route.  They always find out after the plane has landed or the train has arrived.  By the way it’s kinda crazy how much traveling these guys do if you think about.  They must spend like days and days going from one country to another.  I don’t know how they pay for any of this shit either.  After the first film money is rarely discussed so it’s a mystery how Bourne/Cross afford anything.  They have to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses alone.  But of course there’s also food, lodgings, weapons, gadgets, bribes and other crap.

It's a bummer that the sequels don’t improve on the formula or escalate shit.  They somehow manage to be all intrigue and action scenes while simultaneously being dull.

Conclusion

I totally dig that first one.  It works as a self-contained picture that excites, delights and satisfies.  Bourne shows a greater display of humanity where you feel sorry for him and want to see him get to the bottom of who he is.  I’d go as far as to say he’s even a bit dorky and that only makes him more likeable.  The filmmakers tease the audience along at just the right pace and dole out the mystery in an approachable way.  If you haven’t seen it I definitely recommend it.

Honestly, the rest can piss off.  It’s very contrived how they get Bourne back into the game in Supremacy which then fuels the rest of his journey.  He was minding his own business half way around the world when these morons decided to kick the hornet’s nest.

I mean none of these sequels make much sense.  Supremacy and Ultimatum may have the veneer that they’re smarter and more sophisticated than they actually are but Legacy and Jason Bourne are more flat out dumb.  For example in Jason Bourne a character hacks into the CIA and steals a folder called “Black Operations” with subfolders of all their programs listed.  Incriminating and convenient all in one!

A fairly big problem I have with the Bourne sequels is the same problem I have with most other spy movies, they’re cheesy in a bad way.  For a lot of the runtime you have stiff agency folks in suits in a dramatically lit situation room with the big screen and other agents at their stations furiously typing away spitting out tech mumbo jumbo and government operational mumbo jumbo and tactical mumbo jumbo fretting over every detail while the flawless hero outwits these rubes at every turn.  It’s not that gripping or engaging.  I would say this might work better as a TV show but 24 is pretty similar (from the one season I saw anyway) and debuted the year before Identity.  Plus they did that Treadstone series which I didn’t check out.

In the end the dealbreaker for me is you can’t take yourself this fuckin’ seriously (there’s shockingly no comic relief whatsoever in any of the sequels) while also being this goddamn ridiculous.  And that combination gives them a lame edge.  Then you can pile on that they’re annoyingly uncreative, the action is too repetitive and the universe and characters aren’t really expanded on with each episode like they should. 

Look, I’ve mentioned this before but I’m not a big James Bond fan either which is sort of on the other end of the spectrum of this genre.  It’s meant to be more carefree with tons of colorful characters, innovative stunts and wild plots.  The stuff I find irritating about the franchise is Bond himself is a horrible misogynistic arrogant piece of shit, the plots as well as the villains are cartoonishly absurd and everything always turns out fine so there’s no reason to care.  Most of the installments tend to be more annoying than fun.

Spy thrillers, for the most part, just aren’t my thing.  But check out Identity.