Romancing The Treadstone

If you watch the Superbowl and/or go outside on a semi-regular basis, you're probably aware that the fifth Bourne film has a trailer and a title. "Jason Bourne". I dig it. I dig the whole franchise. And that TV spot was some quality shiznit, so thus begins the four-part series of reviews I will be doing of the entries in the series so far. I love these films, I love the idea of watching them again, and I can't wait to think of clever little puns that only y'all fans will appreciate.

I know.

I know.

I said four.

Listen, Bourne Legacy is by no stretch a good Bourne film, but it's in no way so horrible I would refuse to ever mention it or acknowledge that it exists. Look at it this way. I'm a bad a cook, that's just a fact. That doesn't mean I'm a bad person. I'm not gonna go around forging checks and watching The Big Bang Theory. Just don't trust me to make dinner edible, that's all.

Let's get this bitch started.

THE BOURNE IDENTITY (A.K.A THE SPERM THAT MADE IT TO THE EGG AND STARTED IT ALL)

We begin our movie on a stormy night on he Mediterranean sea. Fishermen scoop up a body that floats in the water, and nurse the man back to health. Who is he? He doesn't know...

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE STATES

The CIA searches for their operative, Jason Bourne, who has gone missing after a botched assassination attempt.

The agency scrambles agents to find and kill Bourne, hoping to avoid word getting out of the assassination plot, and that floaty guy from the sea (Bourne or course) sets out to somehow uncover who he is and why he was found the way he was. Along the way he picks up a companion, an unlucky German woman by the name of Marie, and the two attempt to learn what they can about Bourne's past, whilst staying one step ahead of the deadliest agents in the world.

Right there you've got something a little different. An amnesiac super spy, that is pretty damn cool, and at the time it wasn't really something we had seen done before. I say we, even though I was five when the movie came out. Admittedly I was eight when I first gave it a watch, but that's still younger than anyone should be when they see Matt Damon stab a man repeatedly with a common office pen.

The premise was unusual, and that was a huge help in distinguishing Bourne as a character from men like James Bond, Ethan Hunt, or Jack Ryan. Jason Bourne has skills, and he has expertise, but he is also very unsure of himself, and for good reason: The man doesn't remember who the hell he is. This is someone with very legitimate doubts about his loyalties. James Bond would take a bullet for his queen without a question, Ethan Hunt would scale the tallest building in the world just to complete a mission, but Jason Bourne isn't ever actually sure he's on the right side. He is determined to survive, and as subservient as he may have been in a past life, he now cares little about the mission or pleasing his superiors. As far as Jason Bourne is concerned, he is no longer a CIA pawn. The mission has changed, and he lets them know it.

The character of Marie is also a very welcome addition, and that's saying something, because it isn't difficult to get a character like that VERY wrong. She's the companion, she can't do all the cool shit Jason Bourne can do, and for that reason it is important she not be portrayed as being annoying, or weak, or just plain helpless. The harder thing still is to balance her strength and intelligence with the hindering reality of her lack of experience in Bourne's world. She shouldn't be an obstacle, however, we need to believe that she is a normal person, who is uncomfortable shooting shit and jumping out windows. That balance is achieved, quite expertly so.

The suspense is taught and very well-sustained. This movie has downtime, but only enough of it for us to breathe, and begin to grasp what's going on. Every action set piece feels natural. The Bourne films are not built around locations. The characters don't fly to fucking Egypt half way through the movie just to set up some crazy chase across the pyramids. When action takes place, it makes sense, and it moves the characters from one place to another, that place always being a location that makes sense for the characters to end up. When Bourne fights someone, it feels necessary. It feels as though Bourne has considered every avenue, and sees no option other than to beat his opponent senseless with everyday household objects.

The performances are fantastic, and enough loose ends are left untied by the story's end to prime us for a sequel. The best part there is, even if a sequel never happened, Bourne Identity would still stand as a movie. Matt Damon makes this role his own, from the very start. He brings it in every scene, and he knows just how to walk the line between bad ass and vulnerable. The character of Bourne feels like a kid, almost, and I mean that in a very positive way. He's unassuming, he lacks confidence, more often than not, he's scared. Damon knew what was required of him in that first entry into the character's story, and he brought every bit of it to the table.

OK TECHNICALLY

Pretty stellar. Doug Liman, the movie's director, utilizes less handheld than his successor, Paul Greengrass, but it's still present, and used with enough sensitivity to only add intensity to every fight. The sound is mixed and edited very well, and the decision to end the film with Moby's Extreme Ways was truly inspired. There are some beautifully composed frames on display here, one shot in particular in the film's first act striking me immediately as being gorgeous in every sense (Bourne standing alone in the snow at night).

My only two gripes are with certain editing choices, and special effects. The fight scenes are cut in such a sense that at times, they can be a bit jarring to watch. I did find myself a little annoyed on occasion at  how frequent the cuts were, and knowing that Damon was (and is) very capable and willing when it came to doing stunts and fight chore, I'm a little disappointed that Liman didn't work harder to showcase that. It's apparent that the crew worked hard to keep as much of the film in-camera as possible, but there are moments when green screen is used, and it can be little distracting when it is. That's really it.

This movie is fun as fuck, that's really all there is to this one. If you haven't seen it or its sequels, do that before the fifth one comes out, you've got some time.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the next three O' these.