My Favourite Movies: The Bourne Trilogy.

I know that it’s kind of cheating but I thought it appropriate to mention these three movies in the same post. I must also mention that I’m not exactly a fan of Matt Damon.

I went to see The Bourne Identity because of the trailer. I must admit that I wasn’t disappointed as the movie easily made my DVD list. I have never read any of Robert Ludlum’s books so didn’t have any preconceptions which probably helped as on attempting to read the book I found it turgid in the extreme (as was the original movie which I later struggled through). What made this movie above the average was a mixture of unfolding mystery – never fully resolved in the first film – the depiction of the CIA as a Byzantine organisation at war with itself and above all else the jaw dropping fight scenes between Bourne and his almost equal adversaries. Another thing I loved about this movie was the car chase across Paris which was one of the best I’ve seen. I also liked the lack of gadgets that normally litter James Bond movies (or at least used to until his latest incarnation) instead relying on the heroes training and use of often household objects. All in all a trilling film.

The sequel The Bourne Supremacy was, in my opinion, the weakest of the three movies but still managed to make my DVD list. Starting in India it brought the still largely amnesiac Bourne out of ‘retirement’ in an attempt to clear his name and exact revenge on the killer of his girlfriend. This was a very convoluted film revolving around Bourne’s first unofficial ‘assignment’ and the theft of $20 million of CIA money. It also introduced a new character Pamela Landy (played by the superb Joan Allen) who impressed me greatly. As we had come to expect from the first movie there were the usual jaw dropping fight scenes – I particularly liked the fight between Bourne and the last surviving Treadstone agent where he basically defeated him with a rolled up magazine. Again we were left breathless by another car chase this time through the streets of Moscow. With his name cleared and his girlfriend avenged (as well as more of his memory recovered) Bourne again disappears into the night.

The last in the trilogy was The Bourne Ultimatum. This cleverly starts within minutes of the previous film ending with Bourne making his was out of Moscow with the cities finest hot on his tail. Avoiding the police yet again Bourne vanishes only to reappear on reading that a British journalist has uncovered information about the operation Bourne was part of. Heading to London he meets up with the journalist only to see him killed by a CIA sniper. Deciding that the only way to be finally left alone Bourne decides to bring down the CIA covert-ops section once and for all. This I thought was the best film of the three. Both clever and knowing it referenced the first two movies wonderfully. Damon seemed to be completely wrapped up in the role and was at his believable best. You could almost see his character thinking as he calculated tactical outcomes and planned his next devastating moves. Again the fight scenes – particularly in Waterloo station when he ‘took out’ six or eight agents in a matter of seconds – just blew me away. It was also nice to see Julia Stiles (playing Nicky Parsons in all three movies) get more of a meaty role. Bourne finally recovers his full memories, completes his mission and survives after coming full circle this time in the Hudson River. Leaving some nice loose ends for the audience to chew over this was an excellent end to an excellent series of films. As a treat I watched all three almost back to back (separated by a bit of online gaming) on New Years Eve. It was a very good way to end the year.