Back in 2002, The Bourne Identity arrived at an interesting time in the spy genre. Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan’s fourth outing as James Bond, had come at a point when Agent 007 had lost its charm. In comes Jason Bourne, a much-needed, fresh take on the spy genre whose new ideas made it such an appealing prospect of the 2000s.
Now, as Jason Bourne’s rights are being shopped about after leaving Universal, we find a well-regarded trilogy — and a studio — trying desperately to keep an IP alive.
The Bourne Identity, directed by Doug Liman, introduced audiences to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, finally showing Damon’s skill as an action lead. The film is more of a character study than an action film, though, as the audience becomes a part of Bourne’s journey of self-discovery. At the time, The Bourne Identity offered something refreshing; we knew the Bond-type, but Bourne was a new, mysterious spy.
Making $214 million at the box office on a reported budget of $60 million, this fresh take on the genre turned Jason Bourne into a modern spy icon that felt different, one would even say he had some relatability–Bourne did not have an Aston Martin or fancy suit.
Following the success of Identity, The Bourne Supremacy (2004) brought a change in direction with Paul Greengrass, who had impressed Universal with Bloody Sunday (2002) and his use of shaky cam footage. Greengrass’s shaky cam became a key identity of the Bourne films. Although this wasn’t a new concept, Greengrass revolutionized its use within the action film genre of the 2000s. Greengrass, alongside cinematographer Oliver Wood and chief fight coordinator Jeff Imada, captured the rough, fast-paced combat that injected Bourne with a frantic energy that has defined the series.
Greengrass returned with The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), which aimed to finally tie up the loose ends and finish the trilogy of Bourne’s quest to discover his true identity. By the end, Bourne is shot and falls into the sea; we were introduced to Bourne through the sea, and now we see him leave by it. It’s a fantastic full-circle moment as the audience and Bourne both have completed the journey, a journey so successful that it earned $444 million at the box office.
The finale felt like a fantastic conclusion to Bourne’s journey, as he finally discovered the truth and gained the full picture of his story. Bourne was able to leave on his own terms; he got to decide on the identity he wanted. In reality, the end of Ultimatum was more of a pit stop than a full stop.
Before Universal returned to Bourne in 2012, two new action films were released that changed the landscape of the genre: The Raid: Redemption (2011), directed by Gareth Evans, and John Wick (2014), directed by Chad Stahelski. (John Wick ultimately being released after 2012, but here the new franchise creation shows a shift in spy-trilogy strategies.) Both films focused on hand-to-hand action that flowed elegantly instead of using disorienting shaky cam footage, so the sense of franticness that defined the early 2000s Bourne trilogy was not present. That style was gone between 2007 and 2011, and the shaky-cam-action-spy-sequences felt more like relics.
Nevertheless, Universal decided to return to Bourne with The Bourne Legacy (2012), directed by Tony Gilroy, one of the writers of the original trilogy. Taking place during the events of Ultimatum, the film introduced a new sleeper agent named Aaron Cross, hoping to use the rising star power of the newly introduced Avenger, Jeremy Renner.
Legacy is a prime example of the identity crisis the franchise ultimately has undergone since those final moments in Ultimatum, as the film wanted to show the franchise could work without Bourne. However, the film came across as desperate to remind audiences of the charm of the first three films. The Bourne Legacy itself isn’t a bad film, but it wants so badly to be the same as the original films–films that were “hip” over ten years ago. Yet, the action landscape had completely changed.
What was interesting about Legacy is that even though it came across as a fresh injection into the franchise, it didn’t change the approach in regards to shaky cam. Yes, it was still appreciated the roots of what had come before, but also exhibited a stubbornness in saying “what worked before had to keep working.”
The year before The Raid had flipped the genre, whereas Bourne was still trying to hold that top spot but not willing to acknowledge that shaky cam identity had now become its Achilles heel.
Legacy was not a failure at the box office, grossing $267 million, but it did less than Supremacy, resulting in the inevitable return of Damon in 2016’s Jason Bourne. Interestingly, this came just two years after the first John Wick and felt like a response saying that Bourne was still cool, please don’t forget! (The popularity of John Wick soared, and the franchise ended up being greenlit for multiple sequels, Chapter 2 releasing in early 2017.)
With Damon and Greengrass returning, I made sure to immediately see it in theaters with my Dad, flooded with loving memories of the original films he introduced to me so many years before.
Both of us agreed that Jason Bourne felt like the last swing of a dying franchise. Truthfully, the rightful end was when Bourne swam away in 2007. Alas, the studios were desperate to pump out another Matt Damon performance in hopes of success and relevance.
Yet Bourne didn’t die there. The last bit of Bourne-related media we got was a TV show called Treadstone in 2019, set in the world of Bourne with different sleeper agents across the globe. It only lasted one season.
So, what is next for Jason Bourne? Recently, GameRant reported that Netflix, Apple, and Skydance Entertainment all showed interest in the rights. But, in wondering what is next for Bourne, it’s important to remember what really defines the franchise: that sense of freshness that started back with Identity had such an influential impact.
Studios can try to retread ground, but what was so great about the original trilogy was the sense of Bourne having a purpose at the start in Identity all the way through Ultimatum. The reason why adventuring outside of Bourne hasn’t been successful is that the sense of journey is lost; most importantly, has the journey been worthwhile for audiences to be part of?
Going forward, if anything is to happen with Bourne moving forward, that sense of purpose and unknown has to be within the journey that appeals to audiences to be part of.
Until the IP’s fate is determined, though, we wonder what happened to Bourne. As it stands, we have two stories: one shows how to perfectly execute a trilogy, and the other shows how studios refuse to let a good story die.
Retrospective Courtesy of Matthew Allan
Feature Image Credit to Universal via IMDb