The longest-running film franchise of all time has had to reinvent itself regularly in recent decades: when Sean Connery temporarily gave up the increasingly unpopular role of James Bond after ‘You Only Live Twice’ and George Lazenby followed in his far too great footsteps, “007” would almost have fallen into oblivion. After Roger Moore’s space journey in “Moonraker”, which was strongly inspired by “Star Wars” in the late 1970s, the spectacle could hardly be improved. And after Pierce Brosnan’s increasingly bizarre performances in the role of the British MI6 agent, the filmmakers hit the reset button shortly after the turn of the millennium to return the franchise to the more believable here and now after the unrealistic “Die Another Day.” “.
Shortly before Pierce Brosnan’s last Bond film “The Bourne Identity” to packed cinemas, received a strong response from audiences and promptly ushered in a new era of spy films. The Bond creators have always known how to respond to the signs of the times without undermining too much the essence of their brand: they oriented themselves in the recast of the five films starring Daniel Craig, who debuted in the 2006 reboot “ Casino Royale” and in 2021 “No Time to Die” also gave up on the success of Doug Liman’s exciting action thriller.
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This is what ‘The Bourne Identity’ is about
Italian fishermen pick up the body of a man in the Mediterranean Sea who has two bullets in his back but is still alive. When the seriously injured man reaches below deck, he is shocked to discover that he has lost his memory. Who is this man – and why did they want to kill him? The recovered man disembarks in Marseille. He travels to Zurich via an implant in his hip with the number of a Swiss bank account. In the safe he apparently rented there, he discovers, in addition to numerous false passports, large bundles of money and a weapon. What does this all mean?
We enjoy a knowledge advantage over the nameless: Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a highly trained elite agent, a killing machine, stationed in Paris as part of the CIA’s “Treadstone” program. In the car of globetrotter Marie Helena Kreutz (Franka Potente), who meets Bourne during an incident at the American embassy, he flees to Paris from the police and his clients, for whom he has become a ticking time bomb. He’s already waiting there for him…
This is how Bourne inspired Bond and Bond inspired Bourne
For Jason Bourne and James Bond, the first and last names start with the same two letters – but that is certainly not the only thing the successful series have in common. Bond inspired Bourne and vice versa. When ‘The Bourne Identity’ premiered in cinemas in September 2002, the 007 series was about to undergo the much-needed reboot mentioned at the outset: two months later, Bond was roaring across frozen lakes in an invisible car on the big screen, the villain in “Die On another day” lives in an ice palace! Jason Bourne’s first adventure is a more credible alternative to the 007 cosmos: no bombast, no futuristic features and no exuberant visual effects, but grounded settings and tough action that anchor the events in reality.
The fact that Bourne has lost his memory also makes him more human. He is not a consistently superior superhero, as 007 often was, but a sensitive, sympathetic man. Uncertainly he reveals himself to his partner (Franka Potente as a counterpart to the classic ‘Bond Girl’), almost reluctantly he finds himself in the flawless body of a fighting machine. We feel and suffer with him. A similar pattern characterizes the Bond films with Craig: While 007 had to make do with virtually no feelings until the 1990s – exceptions such as the underrated “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” confirm the rule – Bond mourns his death in Craig’s first film ” Casino Royale”. “. beloved Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and embarks on a campaign of revenge in ‘Quantum of Solace’.
As with the Craig films, the fight scenes in the first Bourne adventure seem very grounded, which doesn’t make them any less exciting: instead of relying on awkward gimmicks, as we know from the older Bond films, these sequences are incredible physically. After arriving in Zurich, Bourne disguises not only two patrol officers, but also other officers who have to pull him out of traffic. His reflexes surprise every opponent, he fights with the precision of a robot. And yet it seems real.
Conversely, the Bourne makers were inspired here and there by 007: the breakneck chase in the red Mini Cooper through oncoming traffic in Paris is reminiscent of the Bond film ‘A View to a Kill’, in which the more than 50-year-old Roger Moore His final appearance for the Bond franchise sees him racing around the Eiffel Tower in a not exactly brand new Renault. We also know from Bond adventures the worldwide network of agents who work for the same secret service and who can never keep up with the main character in an emergency. And of course the renegade elite agent who gets into a fight with his employer.
That’s why the first Bourne adventure is so worth seeing
The Bourne Identity has aged incredibly well and not only inspired the 007 films, but also started its own franchise with four sequels. There are only a few breaks to catch your breath: Accompanied by a strong soundtrack, the journey takes place at a rapid pace through Zurich and Paris. But the emotional worlds of Bourne and his companion are also given sufficient space. This gives the characters depth and the film does not degenerate into a soulless action spectacle. Anyone who is not yet familiar with the Bourne series can also join the search for clues in the past: what happened before the elite agent fell into the Mediterranean Sea? And what’s behind the ‘Treadstone’ program, which later even got its own spin-off series?
The bottom line is that the fact that Bourne’s superiors – especially the stressed-out Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) – leave headquarters late in this film and appear rather woodcut-like as characters is easy to accept: “The Bourne Identity” offers a highly entertaining, fast-paced game of hide and seek in the heart of Europe, peppered with subtle humorous nuances.