Open Writing

The Bourne Identity (2002) was a character driven spy thriller which put many Bond films post-"From Russia With Love" to shame.

Jason Bourne is a man discovered floating in the Mediterranean during a storm by a group of fisherman. Unable to remember who is is, he tries to piece together his life starting with details of a mysterious Zurich Bank account which is sewn into his hip.

He quickly discovers a bag of money, passports, some pretty nifty instinctive fighting moves, and a group of people trying to kill him.

Along with a travelling companion he meets along the way, Marie, Jason tries to piece together his lost memories and the reasons behind the attempts on his life.

Slickly directed by independent film director Doug Liman, the original film was a magnificent example of a spy thriller with a heavy flavour of the 60s and 70s - think of films like Three Days of the Condor which starred Robert Redford.

The old-world theme was accentuated by a brilliant car chase in the streets of Paris as Bourne tries to evade the French police in a battered old Mini.

Not since John Frankenheimer hired Formula One test drivers to take a variety of powerful saloons careering around the streets of Paris and Marseille in Ronin have I seen a more satisfying and naturalistic-seeming car chase. There is no sign of any computer trickery to make you believe in increasingly nonsensical stunts - just old fashioned skilful driving.

The wintry European locations helped provide a great sense of atmosphere to the densely plotted Bourne Identity.

Spy films usually find themselves compared to the James Bond series and I am happy to say that both Bourne films outspy anything seen in virtually the entire Bond series.

Bourne is the antithesis of James Bond in that you do notice that he has been trained like a spy, to observe, to think, to move and to fight like his life meant it.

Always the thoughtful spy, Bourne does not shoot indiscriminately or solve his problems with brute force. You get to see Bourne thinking two steps ahead of his enemies, using his surroundings, and improvising solutions using available weapons and tools.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004) is the sequel to The Bourne Identity and carries on from where the first film left off.

Directed by Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Supremacy has Jason Bourne framed for an assassination he did not commit. After an attempt on his life fails, Bourne decides to return to Europe to unearth the a new conspiracy which is threatening to kill him.

Many of the elements which made the first film stand out have been carried over but, in an attempt to make the film more edgier, Greengrass opted to use handheld camerawork during many action sequences.

While some people have liked it, I felt the 'shaky-cam' was a distraction that actually detracted from the sequel.

There also seems to be a little less opportunity in the story to lend much extra depth to many of the characters in The Bourne Supremacy - one of the strong points from the first film.

The Bourne Identity is the better film cinematic experience but The Bourne Supremacy is still streets ahead of many thrillers out there today.