He's gonna find them and kill them, but he's not Liam Neeson!!

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2013)

To say that Jason Bourne is comparable to James Bond is something of an understatement and a very underrated claim at the same time. They even have the same initials, by the way. Some might say that it is just being clichéd to compare the two, but in my mind, it truly works. Where Bond is suave and impressionable, Bourne is direct and doesn't really care what people think of him. The film definitely departs from the source material, but not to its discredit. The film manages to transcend the genre by taking the places and names from the books and create its own original story. It follows the baseline of the books, but crafts a world for our main character which is plausible and modern enough to not even appear dated. The performances are all top-notch; as it should be, the persona Damon creates as Bourne is by far the best role in the film. I would say its absolutely one of his best roles - what one would call a tour-De-force performance. However, ample support is supplied from the rest of the cast also. Potente is especially good, and even though Cooper just seems really mad all the time, it really is a testament to his acting abilities if one watches his other movies and understands his immense range. Something that only just recently came to me about these films is the diversity of the cast. There is Bourne, who is a definite loner, even when he's with Marie. He can never get over the changes that his experiences have forced him to make, and he is therefore incredibly tortured by conflicting emotions and thoughts all the time. So no matter who he interacts with, the focus is always on Bourne. He functions in all situations the same, and deals with everybody (except Marie) more or less the same. He is what he is, and you either love him or hate him - no gray area. Then we have those who are tracking and/or trying to kill him, and they have their own separate part of the movie that only sometimes interacts with Bourne. Because of all this, everything is literally on Damon's shoulders to carry the movie, and that is why he is so great. Just like Bourne, Damon has to stand out. If he doesn't, then his role means nothing, and the viewer doesn't care about what happens. This is much like what happens in "Unknown", the fairly recent Liam Neeson vehicle, which has a very similar storyline to the Bourne films. The movie also fits in rather nicely with the other two, and creates a viable trilogy. One might say that they prefer Liman's directing simply due to the fact he doesn't use choppy editing like Greengrass did, but I understand the need for both methods in their element and could not imagine either one to be any different. As with all three of the Bourne films, the action is astonishingly simple once one gets used to it, and anyone is more than welcome to freeze-frame and follow the choreography. Some have said that the way these films compose the action sequences is unnecessarily fast and showy. I disagree. The films' choreography is a symbol for the character of Bourne. The action is literally so fast it's over before you even realize, much like it is from Bourne's side of things. Due to his amnesia, he doesn't understand what he's doing either, per Se. It's a reflex for him to react the way he does. He just does it, without hesitation or remorse, which is exactly why he's so good as an agent. I will say that for me, the franchise's only disadvantage is for anyone who's never seen the films before. When I first watched the films, I didn't really understand it either. It was all too complicated for me at the time. But after watching all three of the Damon films (haven't seen Legacy yet) several times once I got older, I have progressively understood what is going on within each one. Once I understand what's going on, it's a piece of cake to invest myself in the story and characters. But for those who are beginners like I was at one time, the films probably seem horrible. That's when I would say to stick with them for the long haul - watch them all again, if you have to. I love these films, and I would strongly recommend them to anyone. Don't underestimate the awesomeness of Bourne.