History YMMV / TheBourneSeries

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: One may argue that the Bourne series [[MyRealDaddy has two daddies]] with Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' wasn't as well-received as its predecessors. It should be noted that Tony Gilroy wrote all four films (and directed ''Legacy''). The fact that he wasn't involved with ''Jason Bourne'' even though Greengrass and Damon returned led to it also not being as well-received as the original trilogy.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: One may argue that the Bourne series [[MyRealDaddy has two daddies]] with Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' wasn't as well-received as its predecessors. It should be noted that Tony Gilroy wrote all four films (and directed ''Legacy'').

** Though not technically a sequel, ''Legacy'' didn't receive the same amount of praise that the Damon films did.

!The Original Novels

!The Movies

* BadassDecay: Lustbader changes Bourne from an unstoppable juggernaut into a whining wimp who wouldn't win without outside help. See Flanderization on the Literature page.

* SongAssociation: Music/{{Moby}}'s "Extreme Ways", due to it being used as the credits song for each movie. The first trailer for ''Jason Bourne'' only needed the song's ''first two notes'' to signify that the movie it was advertising was a Bourne movie.

** Though not technically a sequel, ''Legacy'' isn't receiving the same amount of praise that the Damon films did.

** A notable aversion that is somewhere between this and SurprisinglyImprovedSequel. 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}}.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: One may argue that the Bourne series [[MyRealDaddy has two daddies]] with Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors. It should be noted that Tony Gilroy wrote all four films (and directed ''Legacy'').

* DesignatedHero: Aaron Cross is really just an innocent man trying to survive, but demonstrates himself to be a fair bit more ruthless than Bourne is in trying to do that. In particular, he seemingly kills a couple of security guards at the Manila factory, damages a lot of their equipment for a distraction, and knocks out the plant manager for no other reason than to steal his watch.

* FoeYay: Landy and Vosen have a bit of this.
* HarsherInHindsight: In the beginning of ''Ultimatum'', Bourne revealing insider information about a top secret and sinister program run by an US government agency to a journalist working for ''The Guardian'' is bearing an eery resemblance to what Edward Snowden did six years after the movie's release.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Many Filipinos, especially Manileños, turned out to watch ''Legacy'' mostly because the last half takes place in Metro Manila.
* MemeticMutation: "He drove off the roof!" "WHAT?!" "''HE DROVE OFF THE ROOF!''"
* MyRealDaddy / OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: One may argue that the Bourne series [[HasTwoMommies has two daddies]] with Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors.
** It should be noted that Tony Gilroy wrote all four films (and directed ''Legacy'').
* NightmareFuel: In and out of universe. After Marta witnesses her colleague shoot everyone in her workroom, the CIA sent a team of therapists to see if she's got PTSD. [[spoiler: One of them holds her, while another forces her gun on her hand and presses it down to her head so it would look like she shoots herself. The worst part? They almost get away with it.]]
* RewatchBonus: In ''The Bourne Supremacy'', Bourne arrives in Berlin, he sees a nearby poster advertising the protest at Alexanderplatz, so he'd already been planning his confrontation with Landy and the CIA.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Several critics felt that Aaron Cross's dependence on constant medication to maintain his high intelligence and fear of losing it were one of his most interesting characteristics, and that it was disingenuous when [[spoiler:the enhancement is made permanent.]]

* HerrDoktor: It's so subtle it may very well be just coincidental (he has no accent and no information on his background is given), but Albert Hirsch does at the very least have a German name.

* CompleteMonster: Eric Byer, chief of ThePurge in ''The Bourne Legacy''. This guy does not flinch at murdering his fellow countrymen, a lot of which have worked on the cause without knowing how their works are corrupted, simply out of very remote possibility that they may become witness in trial.

* HarsherInHindsight: Bourne revealing insider information about a [[GovernmentConspiracy top secret and sinister program run by a government agency of the USA]] to a journalist working for ''The Guardian'' in the beginning of ''Ultimatum'' is bearing an eery resemblance to what Edward Snowden did one year after the movie's release.

* HarsherInHindsight: Bourne revealing insider information about [[GovernmentConspiracy a top secret and sinister program run by a government agency of the USA]] to a journalist working for ''The Guardian'' in the beginning of ''Ultimatum'' is bearing an eery resemblance to what Edward Snowden did one year after the movie's release.

* NightmareFuel: In and out of universe. After Marta witnesses her colleague shoot everyone in her workroom, the CIA sent a team of therapists to see if she's got PTSD. [[spoiler: One of them holds her, while another forces her gun on her hand and presses it down to her head so it would look like she shoots herself. The worst part? They almost get away with it.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Sheng Chou Yang in Supremacy, Spalko in Legacy, and Karim in Betrayal.

* BadassDecay: In the books, Lustbader changes Bourne from an unstoppable juggernaut into a whining wimp who wouldn't win without outside help. See Flanderization on the Literature page.
* CompleteMonster: Eric Byer, chief of ThePurge in ''The Bourne Legacy''. This guy does not flinch at murdering his fellow countrymen, a lot of which have worked on the cause without knowing how their works are corrupted, simply out of very remote possibility that they may become witness in trial.

* DesignatedHero: For the original books, Arkadin, in the flashbacks of his past. The narration is meant to make readers sympathize with him, his tormented life in Nizhny Tagil, and his struggle against various Russian crime bosses. The problem is that, even considering all that, he is still a murderer, a terrorist, in a life of crime for selfish gains, and no better than any other Russian gangsters he kills.
** Aaron Cross is really just an innocent man trying to survive, but demonstrates himself to be a fair bit more ruthless than Bourne is in trying to do that. In particular, he seemingly kills a couple of security guards at the Manila factory, damages a lot of their equipment for a distraction, and knocks out the plant manager for no other reason than to steal his watch.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Clive Owen's Professor.
** Cross and Shearing are extremely popular in fanfiction.
** Popular Australian Actor/Comedian Shane Jacobson's brief appearance as the Factory Owner in Legacy was well recieved by Aussies, many of whom paid more attention to him in his scenes than anyone actually relevant to the plot.
* EvenBetterSequel: Each sequel kept getting more acclaim from critics, with the final film ''The Bourne Ultimatum'' generally being seen as the best.
** Though not technically a sequel, ''Legacy'' isn't receiving the same amount of praise that the Damon films did.

* FoeYay: Landy and Vosen have a bit of this.
* HerrDoktor: It's so subtle it may very well be just coincidental (he has no accent and no information on his background is given), but Albert Hirsch does at the very least have a German name.
* IronWoobie: Let's just say Bourne had a lot to go through.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Many Filipinos, especially Manileños, turned out to watch ''Legacy'' mostly because the last half takes place in Metro Manila.

* {{Sequelitis}}: A notable aversion that is somewhere between this and SurprisinglyImprovedSequel. 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}}.

* MyRealDaddy / OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: ZigZagged. With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors. One may argue that the Bourne movies [[HasTwoMommies has two daddies]] in Liman and Greengrass.

* MyRealDaddy: With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', garnering even greater acclaim. So much so that when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors.

** ''Legacy'' is a bit more divisive in this respect, with its very existence of trying to make the series a franchise and reverting what should have wrapped up the series in ''Ultimatum''. That said, the movie was much better received than comparable attempts due to having a few shared members of the production (the same writer, who also takes on director duties) and a great cast with Renner, Weisz and Norton.

* MyRealDaddy: With ''The Bourne Identity'', director Doug Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Paul Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', garnering even greater acclaim. So much so that when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''The Bourne Legacy'', MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors.

* AdaptationDisplacement : A textbook example, as the movies have replaced the books.

* CompleteMonster: Eric Byer, chief of ThePurge in the Bourne Legacy. This guy does not flinch at murdering his fellow countrymen, a lot of which have worked on the cause without knowing how their works are corrupted, simply out of very remote possibility that they may become witness in trial.

* DesignatedHero: For the original books, Arkadin, in the flashbacks of his past. The narration is meant to make readers sympathize with him, his tormented life in Nizhny Tagil, and his struggle against various Russian crime bosses. The problem is that, even considering all that, he is still a murderer, a terrorist, in life of crime for selfish gains, no better than any other Russian gangsters he kills.

* NightmareFuel: in and out of universe. After Marta witnesses her colleague shoot everyone in her workroom, the CIA sent a team of therapists to see if she's got PTSD. [[spoiler: One of them holds her, while another forces her gun on her hand and presses it down to her head so it would look like she shoots herself. The worst part? They almost get away with it.]]

** Aaron Cross is really just an innocent man trying to survive, but even against other innocents he acts with a unusually high degree of self preservation. In particular he seemingly kills a couple of security guards at the Manila factory, damage a lot of their equipment for a distraction and knocks out the plant manager for no other reason than to steal his watch.

* EvenBetterSequel : Each sequel kept getting more acclaim from critics, with the final film ''The Bourne Ultimatum'' generally being seen as the best.

** ''Legacy'' is really a matter of opinion in this regard, depending on whether or not you thought it was a good film, and whether or not it should have bore the name of the franchise or been released independently of it.

* MyRealDaddy: Doug Liman gave the first film a very distinctive style, but Paul Greengrass fleshed it out in the subsequent sequels, which became so highly regarded that Matt Damon refused to do any more movies without Greengrass' involvement, which is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been regarded as highly.

* MemeticMutation : "He drove off the roof!" "WHAT?!" "''HE DROVE OFF THE ROOF!''"

* PetTheDog[=/=][[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Even Bad Men Love Their Daughters]]: A minor one - everyone seems to agree Wombosi's a pretty bad guy, but when he sees Jason hesitating to kill him because of the child on his lap, he refuses to use her as a shield. He picks her up and moves her to the side without attempting to move out from under the gun, giving Jason an easy, clear shot to kill him. (He doesn't.)