Bourne (film series)
Bourne films are a series of American action thriller films based on the character Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin suffering from dissociative amnesia who must figure out who he is, created by author Robert Ludlum.
All three of Ludlum's novels were adapted for the screen, featuring Matt Damon as the title character in each. Doug Liman directed The Bourne Identity and Paul Greengrass directed The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum and Jason Bourne. Tony Gilroy co-wrote each film except for Jason Bourne and directed The Bourne Legacy.
Damon chose not to return for the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy, which introduces a new main character, Aaron Cross, a Department of Defense operative who runs for his life because of Bourne's actions in Ultimatum. The character of Jason Bourne does not appear in Legacy, but mention of his name and pictures of Damon as Bourne are shown throughout the film. Damon returned for the fifth installment, Jason Bourne.
The Bourne series has received generally positive critical reception and grossed over $1.6 billion. Unlike many contemporary action series, it is distinguished by its use of real stunt work, in contrast to the growing use of computer-generated imagery in action scenes.
Films
''The Bourne Identity'' (2002)
A man is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea with two gunshot wounds in his back and a device with the number of a Swiss safe deposit box embedded in his hip. Upon reaching shore, the man assumes the name Jason Bourne after finding a passport under that name in the safe deposit box, along with other alien passports, large amounts of assorted currencies, and a gun. He subsequently attempts to discover his true identity while countering attempts on his life by CIA assassins, eventually realizing that he is one such assassin who failed to complete his most recent mission. Bourne breaks his connections to the CIA and unites with Marie Kreutz, a woman who helped him learn about his most recent actions prior to his memory loss. Bourne's conflict with the CIA reaches a climax when he takes the fight to their doorstep.''The Bourne Supremacy'' (2004)
Some two years after learning that he is a trained assassin and breaking his connections with the CIA, Jason Bourne is framed for a crime to cover up the true perpetrator. An attempt on his life by Kirill, a Russian cop, results in Marie's death in India. Bourne, thinking that the CIA is hunting him again, proceeds to hunt those responsible for her death and his forgotten past. Bourne discovers that Ward Abbott, one of the men who oversaw the program which trained Bourne to be an assassin, had stolen millions of dollars from the CIA. Abbott had planned to frame Bourne for the theft, followed by assassinating Bourne in India. Bourne exposes Abbott to Pamela Landy, the CIA officer in charge of finding Bourne. Abbott kills himself. Bourne goes to Moscow where he is identified, resulting in a long car chase through Moscow. At the end of the chase, Kirill dies. Bourne is in Moscow to find the daughter of a Russian couple killed in his first mission. He tells her that it was not a suicide, as she had been long told, but a murder. Bourne then goes back into hiding.''The Bourne Ultimatum'' (2007)
After six weeks of disconnection from his job, Jason Bourne learns that a British journalist has been investigating his past and contacts him to find out who his source is. Bourne is subsequently targeted by Operation Blackbriar, an upgraded Operation Treadstone, which also has taken note of the investigation. Believing that Bourne is a threat and is seeking revenge, Blackbriar's director Noah Vosen begins a new hunt for Bourne. Bourne manages to take classified documents proving that Blackbriar has targeted U.S. citizens; he is aided by Pamela Landy, who disagreed with Vosen from the beginning and does not support Blackbriar's existence, and former Treadstone logistics technician Nicky Parsons. She may have had romantic feelings for Bourne before his final mission and resultant amnesia. Bourne finally comes face to face with the person who oversaw his behavior modification as the first Treadstone operative some years earlier, memories of which resurface. Those responsible for Treadstone and Blackbriar are exposed, and Bourne goes underground.''The Bourne Legacy'' (2012)
Aaron Cross is a member of Operation Outcome, a United States Department of Defense black ops program which enhances the physical and mental abilities of field operatives through pills referred to as "chems". Cross, deployed to Alaska for a training assignment, traverses rugged terrain to reach a cabin operated by an exiled Outcome operative. Meanwhile, Jason Bourne has exposed the Blackbriar and Treadstone programs in public, leading the FBI and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate those involved. Retired Air Force Colonel Eric Byer, who is responsible for overseeing the Beta program from which the CIA's Treadstone and Blackbriar were developed, decides to end Outcome and kill its agents. Cross manages to survive several attempts on his life and seeks a way to get more chems, as his supply runs out. Cross eventually comes upon Dr. Marta Shearing, his last link to gain more chems. He discovers she has no pills but that his physical enhancements can be "viraled-out" and can become genetically permanent, so he would no longer need physical chems. He, in turn, reveals to her that without the help of the mental chem enhancements, he possesses a well-below average IQ. To avoid this mental regression, and the operatives hunting them, the two travel to a factory in Manila and with Shearing's help, Cross initiates and survives the potentially fatal process of viraling-out of his dependency on the remaining mental-enhancing pills. They evade the Manila police and an operative from the new LARX program, and successfully escape from the Philippines on a junk ship.''Jason Bourne'' (2016)
Nicky Parsons, whom Bourne sent into hiding in The Bourne Ultimatum, gains access to sensitive CIA files. She contacts Bourne to share information about his past, including how he was recruited for Operation Treadstone and his father's role in that operation. Bourne learns that his father, Richard Webb, designed Operation Treadstone and was assassinated by the CIA because he did not want his son to enter the program and become a killer. CIA director Robert Dewey hunts down Parsons and Bourne using a foreign asset and the technical skills of CIA Cyber Ops Division head Heather Lee, while Bourne plans to avenge his father's death. Bourne first tries to make the man who recruited him into the CIA confirm his understanding of his father's death. He then plans to avenge himself against Dewey. Meanwhile, Lee wants to bring Bourne back into the CIA's special operations and Dewey allows her to believe she has his support even though he plans to eliminate Bourne.There is a subplot involving Operation Iron Hand, a surveillance program that will have secret access to a giant social media service called Deep Dream. In the past the CIA and Deep Dream have had a contract to work together, but Aaron Kalloor, its founder and CEO, wants to end this cooperation. When Dewey refuses to allow any such change, Kalloor plans to reveal his relationship with the CIA and its plans to violate the privacy expectations of Deep Dream's millions of users. Dewey plans to assassinate Kalloor before his planned revelations.
Future
In November 2016, producer Frank Marshall acknowledged that Universal Pictures is optimistic regarding a Jason Bourne sequel. In the same interview, he reported that a follow-up installment to The Bourne Legacy, is unlikely although the studio has not ruled it out. In March 2017, franchise star Matt Damon, cast doubt upon a sequel stating that the audience "might be done" with the character.By October 2019, Ben Smith - who has served as a producer on the franchise - confirmed that a film is currently in development. Though he would not detail the plot, nor the studio's plans, he confirmed that the sequel will tie into the Treadstone television series.
Television
''Treadstone'' (2019)
In April 2018, USA Network ordered a pilot for a series titled Treadstone, which will be written by Tim Kring. The series will explore the origins of the Treadstone program and its sleeper agents associated with the agency. By August of the same year, it was announced Treadstone will bypass the pilot stage in favor of a straight-to-series commitment from the network. In October 2019, producer Ben Smith confirmed that the television series has ties to the films, with the show having connection to a future Bourne movie. In May 2020, the series was canceled after one season.Cast and characters
Crew and other
Production
Director Doug Liman stated that he had been a fan of The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum since he read it in high school. Near the end of production of Liman's previous film Swingers, Liman decided to develop a film adaptation of the novel. After more than two years of securing rights to the book from Warner Brothers and a further year of screenplay development with screenwriter Tony Gilroy, the film went through two years of production. Liman approached a wide range of actors for the role of Bourne, including Russell Crowe and Sylvester Stallone, before he eventually cast Matt Damon. Liman found that Damon understood and appreciated that, though The Bourne Identity would have its share of action, the focus was primarily on character and plot. Production was difficult, with screenplay rewrites occurring throughout the entire filming and Liman constantly arguing with Universal's executives. The Bourne Identity was released in June 2002.Universal confirmed at a media conference in Los Angeles, California, that they have plans to release more Bourne films, despite Legacy being given mixed reviews by critics. In a December 2012 interview, Matt Damon revealed that he and Paul Greengrass are interested in returning for the next film. On November 8, 2013, Deadline reported that the fifth installment in the franchise will feature Renner's Cross, with Justin Lin directing. Andrew Baldwin was attached for the film's screenplay writing. On September 15, 2014, it was announced that Damon and Greengrass will indeed return for the next Bourne film, taking the release date, with Renner returning as Cross in a separate film, at a later date. In November 2014, Damon confirmed that he and Greengrass will return with a script from themselves and film editor Christopher Rouse. On May 23, 2015, Deadline reported that Alicia Vikander is in talks to star with Damon in the fifth film. In June 2015, Variety reported that Stiles will reprise her role as Nicky Parsons and Viggo Mortensen is in talks to appear in the film as an assassin who's tracking down Bourne. Deadline reported that Vikander is confirmed to appear in the film. On July 28, 2015, Tommy Lee Jones was cast in a role in the fifth film. On September 1, 2015, Variety reported that French actor Vincent Cassel is cast as the film's villain.
Producer Frank Marshall confirmed principal photography for the new film had commenced on September 8, 2015. The film itself was released in the UK on July 27, 2016 and in the U.S. on July 29, 2016.
The films have been noted for their "well placed", "understated" and "tastefully done" product placement of a "diverse" range of brands, which in the case of the third film, earned the producers tens of millions of dollars. The Bourne Identity features brands such as The Guardian newspaper, BT Tower in London and Tag Heuer watches. The Bourne Supremacy features mobile phones made by Sony Ericsson. The Bourne Ultimatum features a total of 54 brands including The Guardian and BT for the second time; mobile phones made by Motorola, Nokia and Carphone Warehouse, most prominently the RAZR 2 and SLVR, as Motorola was a major sponsor and had a movie tie-in customized phone; cars made by BMW, Ford, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, most prominently the Volkswagen Touareg 2, as Volkswagen provided $25 million in funding; and technology products such as CTX computer monitors, Norton AntiVirus and the Google web search engine.
Music
The scores of the first three films of the series were written by English composer John Powell, with James Newton Howard scoring the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy.Powell returned, with David Buckley to compose the score of the fifth film.
Powell was not the original choice as composer for The Bourne Identity—a score for the film had already been composed by Carter Burwell and recorded by an orchestra, when director Doug Liman contacted Powell to provide an alternative soundtrack as he was dissatisfied with the music. Partly for budgetary reasons, Powell scaled down the orchestral score to a mostly electronic soundtrack with strings overlaid to give it a "cinematic feel".
The song "Extreme Ways" by musician Moby is used as the end title theme of all five films.