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alt title(s): The Bourne Supremacy
"I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred and fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?"
—Jason Bourne, The Bourne Identity
A trilogy series of action films tenuously ( pretty tenuously) based on the Robert Ludlum books of the same name and starring Matt Damon. It revolutionized the spy genre for its simplicity as well as for having a smart protagonist, eurotrotting (with virtually zero California Doubling), well-crafted suspense and aggressive action sequences. Jason Bourne is an amnesiac who finds himself with super-assassin skills and has to stay on the run from former employers and whoever else wants to manipulate him to evil ends. Each movie follows a slightly different story but retains some basic elements of Bourne eluding government custody, killing a fellow assassin with some household implement and goes for an innovative and harrowing car chase.
So far, there are three films in the series:
- The Bourne Identity (2002): A man (Bourne) is fished out of the Mediterranean Sea riddled with bullet-holes and with no memory of who he is. He makes the surprising discovery that he knows how to speak several languages, has plenty of money and passports in a safety deposit box, and he knows how to kill anything that moves. Retracing his steps, he finds himself being hunted by the government and, with the help of a pretty German hippie, he goes in search of his identity.
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004): After a botched undercover mission, a CIA operations leader finds evidence that Bourne was responsible for killing their agents. He's not, but those who framed him also want to kill him. After his girlfriend's death (via a shot that wins awards for sheer accuracy, being fired from a standing position at 200+ metres at a moving target through traffic), Bourne comes out of hiding to find the people who killed her and bring them to justice, and also to start making amends for past wrongs.
- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007): Picking up where Supremacy left off, Bourne is on another mad chase - this time, it's to pick apart all of the loose ends about his identity and life, as he sets out to track down the source of the Government Conspiracy that made him into a weapon and caused all the trouble in the first place. This leads him through a series of individuals with the information he needs, and he picks up an unexpected ally in the computer specialist who had been in the background of the previous films. Cleverly retcons the second movie's final scene.
A fourth film is planned, but it's currently up in the air as to whether or not Matt Damon and/or Paul Greengrass (director of Supremacy and Ultimatum) will be involved. It will not based on any of the books by Ludlum, instead having its own original story (even though the others were based on the books In Name Only).
The success of the films, especially the first two, led to James Bond himself being remade partially in Bourne's image in Casino Royale.
These films include examples of:
- Action Film Quiet Drama Scene: Several, including the dialogue with Professor in Identity, Bourne's apology to Irena Neski in Supremacy, and the conversation (rather monologue) with Nicky in Ultimatum.
- Adaptation Displacement - A textbook example, as the movies have pretty much replaced the books.
- Anyone Can Die - Anyone else here positively scared for Nicky in Ultimatum? - which leads to a rather different reading experience of The Bourne Series.
- Artifact Title: The Bourne Identity makes sense given the context of the movie. The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum... less so.
- Had the titles been reversed for the second and third movies, they might have made more sense. One of Bourne's last lines in the first film was telling the government agent behind the manhunt for him that if they ever came after him again, "there is no measure to how fast and how hard [he] will bring this fight to [their] doorstep"; the second film was Bourne following through on that threat (his "ultimatum", if you will), and the third film was basically Bourne destroying the government conspiracy surrounding Treadstone (showing his "supremacy" over the government officials involved with it).
- The Atoner
- Awesome Yet Practical
- Badass
- Being Watched - Jason can plot the location and arc sweeps of multiple surveillance cameras at a glance and guide others through them as well as himself.
- Berlin
- Bookends - The Bourne Ultimatum ends with Jason Bourne being shot in the back, falling into water, and being lost and presumed dead by his pursuers. This directly mirrors the events preceding the first film, where we first see Bourne being rescued from the ocean, having been shot in the back and left for dead by Wombosi and his men.
- Burn Baby Burn - Inspired that entry.
- Call Back - "Look what they make you give."
- Charles Atlas Superpower - By the end of the third movie, Bourne is able to survive a ten-story fall into water; see Soft Water, below).
- The Combat Pragmatist
- Come Alone: Subverted in Identity.
- Contract On The Hitman - The various hitmen hired to kill Bourne. And, indeed, Bourne himself.
- Especially poignant during Clive Owen's death scene, when his hitman character begins to believe that he's been the one set up to be killed by his superiors. "Treadstone said take pills... look what they had you give me..."
- Crowning Moment of Awesome - Too many to list.
- Crowning Music of Awesome - Moby's "Extreme Ways," played over the end credits of the first two. The remix for the third movie is even better.
- Cursed With Awesome
- Did You Actually Believe?
- Easy Amnesia - Averted. He took a damn bullet to the spine, and fell into the water without any protective gear.
- Escort Mission: In Ultimatum, Bourne guides reporter Simon Ross (carrying important information about Black Briar) through Waterloo Station evading agents out to get Ross, mostly through instructions via cell phone. A potentially awesome escape is averted when Ross deviates from Bourne's instructions and in a panic, rushes into the open, prompting a headshot from an awaiting sniper.
- Every Car Is A Pinto - Avoided, but played straight once in Identity.
- Fanwank - Try to get into an argument of who would win in hand to hand with Bourne. Anyone not superpowered automatically loses, according to the fanboys.
- The Film Of The Book
- Follow The Leader - You can see a lot of influence these films have had on similar genres, both in movies and television, including James Bond in Casino Royale, Taken, Burn Notice and Leverage.
- The Government - Both flavors.
- Heel Face Turn - Bourne's semi-voluntary defection to the side of niceness.
- Also, in Ultimatum: Pamela Landy's switch from hunting Bourne to helping him and blowing the whistle on Operation Blackbriar.
- Heroes Want Red Heads
- Hey Its That Guy: Aside from being Damon's most famous role, Nicky is Julia Stiles, the Professor is Clive Owen, Kirill is Bones & Éomer and Kim is Ethan Hunt's fiance.
- Hot Pursuit
- Hitman With A Heart - Bourne, Sort of.
- Hyper Awareness - In the books and movies, but much more noticeable in the books, where Bourne can sense he's being trailed.
- I Can See You: When Bourne calls Pamela Landy at her office, he lets her know he's within line of sight.
- Impossible Mission Collapse
- Improvised Weapon - Bourne has used pens, magazines, hand towels, and bathrooms as lethal weapons.
- Let's not forget the toaster.
- Indy Ploy - Arguably, since Bourne is constantly forced to improvise some kind of escape.
- In Name Only - The premise is mostly kept intact, but the film and book series diverge wildly in where they go from there.
- Tropes Are Not Bad - the movies are well-crafted and well-respected, having set a new standard for action flicks. They just, you know, don't follow Ludlum's plot.
- I Surrender Suckers - Used by Bourne once in Supremacy, when he intentionally lets himself be caught in USA consulate in Naples, and once in Ultimatum, surrendering to the NY police to hijack their car.
- Jitter Cam - In the last two films. In the second one, especially, to the point that many theater-goers experienced headaches. Toned down for the third.
- Knight In Sour Armor - Pamela Landy
- Le Parkour - Frequently used by Bourne to escape his pursuers.
- Love Redeems - Bourne refrains from killing for Marie's sake.
- Mac Gyvering
- Mad Lib Thriller Title - The Bourne...
- Magical Database - The CIA's database. And granted, there's a CD containing various project personnel...
- The Man Behind The Man - Layers and layers of it, but then again this IS a spy drama.
- Moscow
- National Rail
- Positive Discrimination
- Pragmatic Adaptation, Adaptation Distillation, or Adaptation Decay - Depending on whether you found the books good, bad, or unreadable. Overall opinion is that they're great movies, while the books are cases of Your Mileage May Vary.
- The books were written in the 80's, with the Cold War and everything else going on. Those topics just don't carry the same impact now.
- Revealing Coverup - The whole point of Treadstone is to avoid this trope, as all of Bourne's kills are supposed to look like internal rivalries or murder/suicides. As Bourne's handler puts it: "I don't send you to kill; I send you because you don't exist!"
- Retcon
- Roaring Rampage Of Revenge: The Bourne Supremacy, albeit so cold and machine-like it seems he's lost his humanity until he refuses to kill Ward Abbott and again when he speaks to Irina Neski.
- Sequelitis: A notable aversion that is somewhere between this and Surprisingly Improved Sequel. Each film is considered to be quite good and at the least on par with each other. Although there are a group of people who consider the third film the best due to having the highest HSQ.
- Sherlock Scan - Demonstrated in the diner discussion with Marie, in Identity.
- Significant Monogram - Jason Bourne shares more than just his occupation with James Bond.
- Sinister Surveillance - The US Government, during operations, has hijacked cameras nearly everywhere, and still can't catch Bourne. Granted, they trained him to avoid it, but...
- Soft Water: In Ultimatum, Borne survives falling from a tall building into water after being shot. Falling from the boat in flashbacks shown in Identity probably wouldn't have been all that survivable, either.
- Something They Would Never Say - Subverted.
- The Spook - Bourne was trained to become one of these, and it shows what happens when one of these turns back on its creators.
- Stairwell Chase - Played with.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome - Marie
- Super Window Jump - The very end of Ultimatum. No, don't think about why there would be an unbarred window in a secret CIA training facility.
- Trying To Catch Me Fighting Dirty - Bourne. A lot.
- Too Dumb To Live - Simon Ross, the Guardian reporter who got in way over his head, and despite Bourne's repeated warnings, decided that it would be a good idea to try and escape a security trap on his own. Frankly, he got what he deserved.
- As shows like Burn Notice prove, panicked decisions are exactly how ordinary people who aren't trained would react in these sort of situations.
- We Have The Keys - In Identity, Bourne plans out a complex plot to get information from a hotel information desk. When he doesn't get the phone call from Marie, he assumes that she's bailed on the plan. She then appears right behind him. "I just asked them for it." "...Asked them?" "What? You didn't think of that?"
- Xanatos Gambit - Bourne's bait-and-switch ploy to get the information on the Blackbriar project in Ultimatum.
- Yank The Dogs Chain - The death of his Love Interest in the beginning of the second film.
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