a tough corner to write himself out of...

Rating: 3/10 (12 June 2006)

Granted, the book was taking place back in the 80s, but it seems (to me!) that a reworking of the story/setting and replacement of characters really did more harm than good. I don't mean to complain about the "goodness" of the film -- it was very well cast, filmed and presented -- but coming from my inner purist the adaptation of this movie seems to devalue the central idea of the Bourne saga. The book, The Bourne Supremacy, was the hinging point in Bourne's struggle. Here, his humanity starts to return and Marie was that conduit. It seems that Pamela Landy was the chosen role in the movie, and it was so much more impersonal -- she hands him a packet with his true identity in it, and in the same gesture, she gives him back his humanity... Where is Tony going to go with the next film? The book was about the struggles of Webb, Marie and their CHILDREN (!!) in finally ridding themselves of Carlos the Jackal's over-looming shadow and the mystery surrounding 'Jason Bourne'. I'm sure Webb will come to grips with his identity in the next film, but Marie and his children were what KEPT David Webb human while his alter-ego, Jason Bourne, threatened to undo all the progress that had been made. Perhaps a Parsifal Mosaic twist could help the plot? For those unfamiliar with The Parsifal Mosaic (another Ludlum book), a quick synopsis; a man thinks his wife is killed but spots her, randomly, after leaving his job as a clandestine operations agent. Her return "from the dead" sparks his re-involvement in Black-Ops and a whole conspiracy unfolds...