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The Bourne Identity (2002):
Very creative action film that certainly is not like anything that came before, rejuvenating the directorial and narrative aspects of the action genre, with realism in the open and stunt choreographs that aren't made of the "make believe" criteria, as opposed to, say xXx that's released the same year, or the 90s action crime film Leon: The Professional per se. It made you believe that a standalone super-trained one-man operative can exist in the real world. And kudos to the crew for delivering a great film, even though the differences are noticeable in comparison to the novel. One thing the film lacked was a nemesis for the Jason Bourne character, and Bourne's ally in the original trilogy, Alexander Conklin becomes the main figurative antagonist in this film and veering away from the book, he ends up getting killed (the character is also killed in the TV Series adaptation starring Richard Chamberlain, but his role remained intact to that of the book). Overall: Love this film, the cinematography and the soundtrack.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004):
It used to be the weakest entry in my perspective regarding the series where everything, from the script to the screen presentation, very little makes sense. The camerawork just makes me feel dizzy and I can't stand Greengrass' semi-documentary efforts that turns everything bleak to look at. But, despite the forgettable soundtrack, the rather frustrating death of another major character (Marie, she never died in the books and remained Bourne's wife!), the film does have its good points. Karl Urban, for one, was a very worthy opponent of Bourne's and it was rather a shame we didn't see both clash like titans in hand to hand combat. One of the highlights of the film, however, was Bourne's remorse over the death of a Russian politician whose daughter is visited by Bourne himself at the end of the film, with a scene that doesn't tell you much verbally, yet the emotional spirit of the sequence makes your eyes boil with tears. Overall: I suppose it's an "alright" film. I can't give it much of a praise, basically due to the godawful camerawork.
Bond fans might notice this. There's a scene in the film where Bourne washes down the blood on his hands in a bathroom before rising his face up to look himself in the mirror. Obviously the one we've seen in Casino Royale (after the Obanno fight) was a replica of the aforementioned scene.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007):
Action-setpieces-wise, Ultimatum is by far superior to the ones that preceded it, placing the viewer on the edge of its seat... if you could concentrate heavily, that is. The camerawork is just as bad, and gets worse when we get to Manhattan, and some segments of the Moroccan part. It's a shame, again, that we didn't really have a villain to deal with, but the corrupt CIA officials that started the Treadstone program and beyond. But, I suppose this once it worked as it acted to be a conclusive entry to a trilogy to bring Jason Bourne's journey to explore his past again to full circle. Despite its bleakness, the fight with Desh Bouksani in the Moroccan apartment is definitely the best fight sequence in the whole franchise.
And I also never noticed before, but here we have a very young Scott Adkins making an early appearance in Spain... And get his arse kicked by Bourne, of course. Haha!
The Bourne Legacy (2012):
I haven't changed my mind about this, and I don't think that I will. If anything, I liked the film better than before, and the way its visuals were handled got my praise most. At last, a Bourne film since the first one where we can actually see something. As one of the users a few posts before pointed out, it kept the grittiness of the Greengrass-directed films, yet didn't try to overdo or confuse the viewer. I loved the plot device about those "chems" that everyone keeps complaining about, because basically chems like these do exist (I researched!) and I won't be surprised if they're actually used. The film is exciting and definitely enjoyable to watch until we get to Manila where the temperature drops degrees down and the film begins to become uninteresting. It could have done a lot better. But, I guess, with Aaron Cross being a side character, not after exposing the CIA as his colleague (whom he never met) Jason Bourne has already done it, he doesn't have much to do but run for his life and survive. I loved Jeremy Renner in the film and I am looking forward to a team-up with him and Bourne. I just hope Greengrass doesn't return. The soundtrack is forgettable, like with Supremacy and Ultimatum, not offering much but sound effects that go in tandem with the reactive explosions of each scene. I did love that it also explored other aspects of the Outcome program, basically the training session in Alaska and the snowy forests with wolves. Something we haven't seen in a Bourne film before, so it was a nice touch.
Jason Bourne (2016):
See my post a couple of pages before.
I'll see the last one again when it comes out on home video.
One interesting point came to spark to my mind is when we have to go forward with the story, as we should, what if they finally introduce us a main antagonist and a recurring nemesis to Bourne whose encounters will be similar to that of the books? If it were up to me, I'd call the character simply "Jackal", based on Carlos The Jackal (but won't be Carlos, since he's already washed-out figure for decades), and suggestively to be played by Liam Neeson of the Taken fame. I think having the rather aged assassin versus Bourne (who inspired Taken) would be a win-win.
Done with Bourne. My next marathon will be The Quentin Tarantino Movies, starting with Reservoir Dogs.
Agreed. Great film!
I sure am going to enjoy the hell outta them! :D
If a waitress brings you any food, be sure not to tip her!!
A true classic. Never fails to impress.
MAGNUM FORCE
My favourite in the series. Whose side am I on? Makes me wonder time and again. John Milius' script is flawless.
THE ENFORCER
Not as engaging as the previous two but still quite enjoyable.
Tarantino's first "popular" movie and the man is a breaking genius at it! The dialogues, the camerawork, the angles, the concept, the story, the man is a friggin genius! Even the opening credits edit is too damn cynical taking the piss on the cliche of title designs and every sort of filmmaking I admire the man for it!
I don't have enough words to describe how outstanding this film is. From the first minute to the last. The clearing of the rat pack (Brady will know the reference).
Highlights:
1-Michael Madsen (aka Mr. Blond) dancing to "Stuck in the Middle With You" as he tortures the hostage cop. Perhaps my favourite scene in the film. Madsen has a bundle of charisma delivering that scene as some sort of unjustified likable a**hole.
2-Mr. White and Mr. Pink pulling guns against one another.
3-Tim Roth (Mr. Orange) telling the joke. It's not the joke that's funny, just the way he tells it.
4-The scene in the cafeteria with all the Reservoir Dogs.
And at last but not least:
The Reservoir Dogs opening credits with the whole gang coolly walking in slow motion. Tarantino you damn genius!
And the soundtrack is just pure gold.
If she deserves it, why not? She filled my cup of coffee over six times! Society has no say in the matter. ;)
She'll be parking where she wants it, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7, if you know what I mean. I'll give her the lot. ;)
The chap knows me all too well! :))
And @DarthDimi hell of a marathon you've had there. I think the first three is enough, I'll dump the rest two, like I did a couple of months ago.
It was in fact Michael Cimino that took over Millius' unfinished script and turned it into the complete script, by the way.
@FoxRox, here you go:
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/1266/your-five-favorite-films/p1
@Creasy47 created it not long into the new MI6's lifecycle, and the topic can easily be extended to 10 or 20 films to meet your demand. I may join you and try to do a list of my own. I have several that are always on my mind as masterpieces and favorites, it's sorting the others ranked behind them that's the trouble!
That also said, Brady, have you played the video game adaptation?
@bondsum, I didn't know that. Thank you, friend.
@Master_Dahark, very true. That film had some balls.
@ClarkDevlin, Yeah, it goes downhill after Magnum Force but I'm going to finish the pentology as I'm a completist. ;-)