I happened to catch this one a long while back, during its run here on the silver screen. Jason Bourne, a fictitious brainchild by my favorite author, Robert Ludlum. His works include many others, inclusive of The Holcroft Covenant, one of the better few in the spy fiction genre which I’m re-reading right now.
Ludlum authored the three Bourne novels in his better days, The Bourne Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum respectively. This was re-adapted into the celluloid version, which held true to the first instalment ONLY (that too marginally). The second and the third deviating exponentially away from their novel counterparts, leading us into complex plotlines with numerous mazes and (plot)holes. Yet watchable for they have been adequately compensated for by superior action sequences, great usage of locales, martial arts, technology along with good acting and superior direction. The pace is taut and u’d never be inclined to even excuse yourself to the gents while watching this one.
The third instalment takes off right from where the second left off. Bourne is making his way out of Russia, and from there the movie jumps places aplenty. Its as good as a condensed version of the Amazing Race for it takes us to Madrid, London, Tangier, Moscow and finally to New York. Bourne, with the perfect excuse of partial amnesia to justify any action of his (inclusive of some cool kills, cop battery, disarming and hijacking weapons off authority, vehicular theft, traveling on fake identities, and getting losers around him killed needlessly), certainly does get around.
Watch out for the showdown between Jason Bourne and Desh Bouksani, played by Joey Ansah. The extended fight sequence leaving us pondering over the types of martial arts used in the sequence. Trust me, we zeroed in on everything from Krav Maga to Capoeira. Some even claim Eskrima, in short simply being a case of every exponent wishing his art was represented in the film one way or the other. But seriously, that is one of the best showdown sequences Hollywood could ever come up with.
Not much to say about the rest of the cast, their characters being pretty much high-strung under pressure since Bourne went rogue and persisted to be a pain in the arse pretty much. U’d see the usual in a flick like this, fancy computer rooms with cool systems and consoles, satellite imagery, faceless assassins, silenced weapons, cops on the chase with no clue as to what they are in pursuit of, a token damsel in distress and a bass-oriented background score to accentuate the mood.
They might just go for another 3 flicks spinned off from the trilogy. Call it 'The Adventures of Bourne" or "Bourne and the Midnight Express" or something. Albeit the fact that he gets pretty much busted up all the time, he is miraculously able to withstand superhuman levels of punishment to his body and 'swim away' to safety.
This one goes out to the action junkies.
*peace*
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