Hello friends! I thought I’d introduce a new blog series, as I’m so good at keeping up with every single blog series I’ve put together, right 😉 This series is sort of inspired by Deadpool believe it or not. I just saw it last night and it’s got a lot of hilarious 80s throwbacks so I thought why not do a throwback post?
So this series is to highlight a scene/quote/photo what have you from my favorite movies that’s at least a decade or older. And since we just saw the Jason Bourne trailer during the Super Bowl, it made me want to re-watch the original trilogy (I’m not counting the lame Bourne Legacy w/ Jeremy Renner).
Firstly, look at what Matt Damon look like fourteen years ago. Yep, it has been that long since The Bourne Identity was released in 2002! I’d say he still looks pretty good now after over a decade, I mean he’s got more lines on his face which adds more character and grit. He looks like he’s even more pissed off too, which made him scarier, ahah.
Look at that baby-faced Damon in the first Bourne movie. Who’d have thought he’d be a highly-efficient killing machine?? I have to admit I wasn’t a fan of Damon before Bourne. I mean, I didn’t dislike him or anything, I just didn’t think he was anything special. I never would’ve thought he’d be good in a role like this so imagine my surprise that not only did I LOVE the first Bourne movie, it also changed my opinion about Damon in that he can be super bad-ass!
Now, there are a ton of awesome action sequences here, but I always LOVE a good chase scene. Especially set in one of my favorite European city! This was directed by Doug Liman who recently did Edge of Tomorrow.
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Who doesn’t love Clive Owen. It’s absolutely brilliant to see him (the man who could be Bond) as the strong-silent-type villain opposite Bourne? I think the finale is fantastic, but if you haven’t seen this movie yet you might not want to watch this.
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Are you a fan of the Bourne franchise? What’s your memory of the first time you watched The Bourne Identity?
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Love this and I love baby faced Damon especially when he was in Good Will Hunting. EEK!! This was a perfect Tuesday post for me. haha!!
I knew you’d love this one. I actually like Damon as Bourne the best compared to every other role he’s played. I like him in The Martian too which was a comedic role, but somehow in the dramatic stuff I don’t find him as memorable, sorry!! Funny but my new love Sam is soooo skinny in his earlier roles and he cries a lot, ahah. But then I saw him as Darcy in PPZ and voila!! He could totally be a bad ass action hero and now I REALLY want him to play James Bond!! I mean if baby-faced Matt could be a bad ass spy, why not Sam? 😉
Right Matt was not the action hero dude until he started doing the Bourne films. See I like him in the emotional movies, Good Will and Talented Mr. Ripley haha I loved him in those. Damon will always be my number one old school crush. Can I admit another one but I really do not care for him at all now, I used to love Ethan Hawke! haha Who were your old school crushes? And yes I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more of Sam and of course that will make you happy!
Oh I actually like Damon in Talented Mr Ripley, though Alain Delon in the original French film is hard to top. Oh I actually like Ethan Hawke back when he was in Dead Poets Society but I’ve never become a huge fan or anything. I think he’s cute!
Well Sam hasn’t been cast in a new project other than the BBC miniseries he’s doing now, so I don’t think he’ll become a big name star, which is in keeping w/ me always in love w/ the obscure ones, ahah.
I liked Hawke in Reality Bites, I literally used to have a picture of him and Damon in my room. What a dork! hahaha. But I don’t find Hawke that cute anymore, I don’t think he has aged as good as Damon has. What’s the min-series??
Oh yeah, Reality Bites! Hawke is great in those romantic flicks, he has a melancholic face. I like him in Predestination, I think he doesn’t look as boyish anymore now. I don’t think he could tackle something like Bourne the way Damon does though.
Oh, the BBC series is similar to Man in the High Castle, so similar plot but set in the UK: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4939950/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2 Sam is playing a British homicide detective and Kate Bosworth is his co-star. I can’t wait!!
Oh that sounds so good. I just finished Man in the High Castle. I will definitely check it out!
I just watched Identity the other day again! I couldn’t believe what a baby face considering just looking at him in The Martian. I have Supremacy on my shelf, I ought to watch it again and then I’ll be ready for the new one. Nice post, Ruth.
(Check your email from me to you 😉 )
Oh wow, the timing is impeccable then eh? 😉 Yeah he looked so baby-faced then which is an interesting contrast to his bad-assery (if that’s a word, ahah). You should see ALL of the Damon’s Bourne trilogy, but you can skip Legacy w/ Renner as it’s rubbish.
Oh I’ll check my email soon!
Oh actually, I didn’t see an email from you Cindy. When did you send it?
Love this movie. I was a big fan of Robert Ludlum’s original novel, but actively wondered how they’d modernize its 1980 premise. Well, they did and Doug Liman’s adaptation is criminally underappreciated in this post-Paul Greengrass world (as I stated awhile back). Nice way to showcase it, Ruth.
Thanks for sending me the link, fantastic review! Yes Liman did a fantastic job, and I think Bourne ended up influencing the already-established spy series that is 007, for the better I might add.
Love the series! THE BOURNE IDENTITY is one of my all-time favorite films. I read the books after hearing how very different they were from the films and it’s true. That said, I don’t think the differences detract from either version. Damon makes a great Jason Bourne. Actually, the BOURNE films are virtually the only action movies my wife has any interest in. I have no idea why…..
Hi Rob! Glad to hear. I hadn’t read any of the books but I’d imagine they’re great. Yes Damon is PERFECT as Bourne that’s why it’s a bummer they replaced him w/ Renner and clearly it didn’t work. I LOVE spy action flicks so this is so right up my alley 🙂
I like this new series Ruth!
Funny enough having read the books years before this film came out, I thought it’s going to suck since Damon’s way too young for the role and the trailer was pretty lame. In the first book, Bourne’s in his late 30s or early 40s but he proved me wrong and I really liked the film. I think my favorite scenes from Identity were the big fight in his apartment, the car chase and yes the scene with Clive Owen, it’s a cool assassin vs. assassin sequence.
It’s too bad Doug Liman didn’t come back and make the sequels but that’s his own fault…
Hi Ted! I hope I can keep up w/ this series but it should be doable to do monthly I think 🙂
Yeah I bet lots of ppl had reservations about Damon initially, as they did w/ Craig as Bond. But I think his baby face actually made his character more intriguing as there’s that unexpected factor y’know, he looks *harmless* but then of course he can kill w/ his bare hands. Oh yeah, the fight at a guy’s apartment was great, I think the actor was Marton Csokas who’s in The Debt, Kingdom of Heaven, etc. I think he looks pretty scary as well. I wish Owen would be doing more action stuff again.
Watched it on a plane and loved it so much I watched it again when I got home! This series (minus Legacy) is simply awesome; some of the best action cinema you could wish to see.
Awesome Mark! Yeah, the plane’s tv just won’t do this movie justice, glad you watched it again. Legacy is an ok movie if not compared to the Bourne movies, but as a follow-up, it failed big time!
Not a patch on the others.
Cool post Ruth, great choice for the first of this series! All three of the BOURNEs (I don’t count the Renner one either) are addictive and eminently watchable. By that I mean, if I am flipping channels and catch one, no matter what I’m doing, I will stop and watch it. And that is high praise when I usually only watch newer movies once or twice.
Hey thanks Paul! I just had to do it as the Jason Bourne trailer made me want to re-watch the Bourne trilogy soon. I know you’re probably more into classic films, but I think Bourne trilogy is like modern classics 🙂
P.S. I’ll email you about this but I’d love to feature you and your cinema (Cinema Detroit), would you be willing to do an interview w/ me?
I agree though! I like all kinds and eras of movies…I’m one of those who believe it doesn’t have to be old to be a classic. There’s a lot of junk but there’s some great stuff being made as well. Re: interview — sure, of course 🙂
It has to stand the test of time before it can be considered a classic but I think over a decade later, this one proved its mettle. I think Mad Max: Fury Road might be one as well down the road (pardon the pun!)
Ok I’ll email you! I’m just curious about your process of selecting films that’ll play in your cinema 🙂
Yes, definitely do, I can talk about that ad nauseum 😉
I’m a fan of the Bourne movies with Matt Damon. I think the fighting style and the way it’s shot is some of my favorite and wish more TV shows that have action would try to follow that route. I think in the 3rd movie there’s a flashback and they used CGI/make up to get Damon’s babyface back for that scene haha. Glad this franchise is back with Damon and Greengrass. Good post Ruth!
Hi Eddie! The fighting style and gritty, no-nonsense character kicks off a *new* spy franchise that’s dominated by the more flamboyant Bond. Glad that the sequels maintain the grit and quality of the original too. Yes, glad Damon & Greengrass are back, yay!
I don’t really remember when I first saw The Bourne Identity but I do always think of The 40-Year Old Virgin where Paul Rudd and the guys were dealing with Steve Carell as the movie was playing. Paul Rudd was saying, “you know, I always thought of Damon as a Streisand but he’s rocking the shit out of this one” “Shut up Dave!!!”
Oh I totally forgot about that scene. Ahah, Damon as a Streisand, too funny! But before Bourne he never did anything remotely THIS bad ass.
Eeeeeep! I cannot wait for this! I am a huge Bourne fan, and this is going t be awesome. Matt Damon is fantastic, and I think he is the best choice to play Jason Bourne. I rewatched the movies quite recently, but I can see me doing it again before this movie lands. There were so many great scenes in the trilogy.
I think the biggest mistake of Legacy is it tried too hard to be familiar and stick with Bourne the whole time, and it should not have been flown under the Bourne flag. It isn’t a terrible movie in its own right, but when stacked next to its predecessors, it is just embarrassing. For me, Bourne is a trilogy. too.
Hey Zoë! Well the Jason Bourne one isn’t until this Summer, but you can certainly binge on the awesome trilogy. Yes, Damon is fantastic indeed, though he seemed like an unlikely pick at the time w/ that baby face, ahah. You’re absolutely right that Legacy would’ve been a decent action flick if it didn’t have to live up to the stellar predecessor.
I think I only saw the first one, when it came out. So I would have been…16-17 years old. All I remember thinking is ‘pff man this dude is just indestructible’ after he got in a massive car accident and just walked away from it haha. Can’t remember much else at all. You have me considering re-watching this, after all this time I think I’ll see a very different movie. Plus I barely remember it, ha
Hi Jordan! You should watch the other two in the trilogy. Trust me, all three are excellent. They have great supporting cast too, I mean Brian Cox was terrific in the first one, but I love Joan Allen in the 2nd and 3rd movies.
As Marie said – Who pays $20,000 for a ride to Paris?
As bad ass as he was….
As determined and tough as he was…
Damon wins over the ladies film goers because his life was so tragic. Every one he cared about perished. His first handler Conklin (played by Chris Cooper) is killed at the end of Identity. Marie dies early in Supremacy, and then, in the Ultimatum, Nicky has to go on the run (effectively destroying her career and life – she appears in the next one, but it might be only a flashback cameo). Even the British reporter paid the ultimate price and he spent what – 10 minutes with Bourne?
And yet, Jason has to soldier on. He must swallow the grief and anger to channel his intensity to bringing down Treadstone, then Blackbriar. with the ultimate goal being to find himself.
Hi Mike, hope you are well! Yes I think you captured the essence of Bourne perfectly. He is a tragic character, it’s so sad to see Marie gone so quickly in the second film. He’s deadly even for someone close to him because they became targets. Great comment man, thank you!
Totally adore the Bourne series. Matt Damon/Paul Greengrass’ Bourne that is. I do remember poo-pooing the idea of Matt Damon as an action hero type character when the first Bourne was released. So didn’t jump into the franchise until Supremacy was released. Then went back to watch Identity. The car chases are awesome, the action is brilliant. Looking forward to Jason Bourne, though hoping Greengrass and Damon deliver what we’re all after.
Hi Jaina! Interesting that he won you over in the first film. I was sold from the first film, but yeah, I never thought Damon would be perfect for the role. The production values and kinetic direction made this film work, in addition Damon’s performance. Yes, let’s hope Jason Bourne the movie would be just as good as the trilogy.
Best memory of the film: the Mini car chase. In hindsight, while the film is good, it’s overshadowed by the brilliant third film.
I actually think the sequels improve on the first but overall the trilogy is superb.
I’m with you on Damon and Bourne. I was never really a fan of his…and then I saw Bourne and he was PERFECT for the role (shocker) and while I don’t think he’s a great actor, he’s a comfortable one who eases himself into his roles, much more so now as he’s gotten older.
Hello Drew! Yep Damon is a decent actor, just not a great one. But I think he’s PERFECT indeed for Bourne which was surprising as I don’t picture him as the strong, silent type. I actually like him more now in other roles as well, i.e. The Martian.
I like these movies. The thing which always stuck with me the most though from that first movie is that when it starts out he speaks a few words in Dutch 🙂
Hi Nostra! Oh yeah that’s right, I should pay attention more closely next time I rewatch it 🙂
My youngest daughter is 30 and we loved the Bourne Series, too. It was wonderful to discover such a great current dramatic adventure with unexpected plot twists. I am also fond of him in an underrated but sweet movie, “We Own a Zoo.” This one gets me to crying and this is okay because it is sad but happy in the end. I will look forward to the next continuation of the series with Matt Damon returning. My family did not mind the J. Renner movie since we took it as a “separate entity.” We didn’t think he was stepping in as much as providing entertainment while Matt Damon hung out with his family. I wrote a post about the Martian movie but I forgot to add a tag for Matt Damon. I will go back just in case you ever want to know how much our family likes Space and Mars, plus the Martian! Smiles, Robin
Hi there Robin! I haven’t seen ‘We Own A Zoo’ but I might give it a rent at some point, that’s the one w/ Scarlett Johansson I believe, right?
I really love The Martian! Yes if you could send me a link to your post I’d love to read it. I thought it was a delightful balance between comedy and drama, one of my fave Matt Damon roles for sure.
I first saw The Bourne Identity shortly before The Bourne Supremacy came out in theaters, and I was blown away! Damon is brilliant in the role, and I can’t wait for Jason Bourne.
Damon is amazing in the role, that’s perfect casting that surprised everyone I think. Yeah, let’s hope JB will be good!!
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