Found floating in the middle of the ocean with a bullet hole that should have ended his life, a man awakens with no memory of who he is and no idea why he’s still alive. All he knows is he needs to find his identity. Imbedded below his skin is a small laser device that when pointed to a wall reveals a number: 000-7-17-12-0-14-26.
So begins today’s Wednesday Warriors‘ feature with Jason Bourne taking center stage.
My wife, being a fan of Matt Damon, introduced me to the Bourne Trilogy. At the time, I wasn’t much for the spy genre, but if my wife liked it, then I thought I’d take a shot. Well, not only did I enjoy the series, I also read the first book The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.
Jason Bourne has lost his memory. However, due to some inexplicable reason, he can quickly memorize the layout of a restaurant, its patrons, objects, and formulate an exit strategy. His acute sense of awareness of his surroundings have proven on more than one occasion to have rescued him from harm’s way.
For instance, when Security traps him in an American Embassy, his instincts switch to automatic. He doesn’t know how it happens, but once an officer lays his hands on him, batons twirl and crash to the ground. Hands fly in a series of self-defense moves only a government agent or assassin could execute. His mark end up kissing the floor.
As part of the mystery, Bourne also discovers he has an ability for stealth. He can blend in and not bring attention to his movements. He drifts through crowds with little effort, deflecting tails from capturing him.
His talents also include driving at heart-pounding speeds without causing harm to him or his passenger.
Overall, Jason Bourne is a master of camouflage, deadly with weapons, and—as clichéd as it may sound—a one-man-army. The moniker suits him well.
But if anything were to stand out as the telltale attribute for this character, it would have to be his resourcefulness handling situations as they come. He doesn’t gripe or complain. He handles it. With a firm lower lip and a solid stare, everything he does has purpose. From the smallest matchbook to the largest plank, whatever he uses can become either a weapon or an object to save someone’s life. Add to it his resilience to beat the odds, and Bourne becomes an unstoppable machine.
Thank you Robert Ludlum for creating the amiable Jason Bourne. He truly is a character worth admiring.
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Have you seen any of the Bourne movies? What do you like about the films?
Looking to God 
I’ve seen all four films. I like the first three Damon outings, especially the third one, but the fourth film was an absolute dog’s breakfast of incomprehensible posturing. (I blogged about it; absolutely hated it!) I thought Matt Damon made for quite a humble ‘super spy’ and played the character in quite an understated way. I don’t blame Jeremy Renner for the fourth film, I like him as an actor, but the script was hogwash.
Chris
The first three rocked! Jeremy Renner is still an amazing actor in spite of the less than successful fourth film.
Ive read the Bourne Books and apart from the character of Bourne the movies do a completely different story. The books centre more around his hunt for a rival assassin called The Jackal. The films are really good though and I believe they really captured the essence of Bourne on film. Apparently, Greengrass and Matt Damon are getting back together to create a new instalment to the franchise. This is awesome news!
I haven’t read the Bourne books or seen much of the movies except for snippets, but Jason sounds almost like a Batman – type superhero without a costume.
He also sounds a bit like Michael Weston of the USA series ” Burn Notice ” – about a spy who committed a small infraction of agency rules & finds his credentials voided & having to live in Miami until the ” burn notice ” can be revoked from his record.
I really loved Burn Notice and The Bourne Trilogy, but didn’t see much comparison between the two beyond a couple of plot ideas. The Bourne movies are much ,simpler because theyre just two hour movies and much more action oriented than the TV Show. Also Micchael Weston has a family and is much more like able. Bourne is a very serious, more no nonsense type of guy.
But I found both to be completely enjoyable wastes of all my time! 😊
Nothing better than enjoying the complete art of wasting time!
Well then, you’ll have to watch the movies soon before the next in the series hits the theaters!
I saw the first two movies and I liked the story. The shaky camera fighting was a bit of a letdown though. One of my friends blames this series for making that style popular. I never read the books though, so I’m wondering how they compare to each other. How different are the books and movies?
Hey Charles, in comparison to the movie, I found the book raw. The descriptions are vivid and there’s a lot more in the book than what the movie has.
That seems to be the case a lot with movies based on books.