Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 345 min – 2002/2004/2007 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

 

Ever since the character of James Bond was introduced in the 1962 film Dr.No, many, many, many have tried to take his seat as the ultimate spy, but after decades of attempts no other screen secret agent has come close. In 2002 that all changed with the big screen adaptations of the first in a series of adventure novels by author Robert Ludlum, centering around a spy named Jason Bourne. When the first movie, The Bourne Identity, was originally announced no one thought much of it because it was set to star Matt Damon, and at the time folks were tired of the whole “Matt (Damon) and Ben (Affleck)” show. The weekend the movie was released, word quickly spread that this was the start of something big, and The Bourne Identity became one of the biggest hit films of 2002. The Bourne Trilogy, which was previously an HD-DVD exclusive, is finally available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and if you’re a fan of these films and you own a Blu-ray player, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a perfect match.

THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002)

The first Bourne film introduces our hero left for dead with bullets in him as he floats in the sea, and the crew of a fishing boat discovers his body. He is nursed back to health but suffers from amnesia and has no clue who he is or where he belongs. An bank account number found in a device that was on his body leads him to Switzerland, where he opens a deposit box to reveal his name is Jason Bourne, along with a variety of passports and a huge chunk of cash. He then discovers that someone is on his tail and wants him dead, making him team up with a young woman named Marie (Franka Potente), who he pays to help him escape the city. Bourne slowly begins to piece together that he was apart of something big, but he still doesn’t know exactly what it is, and is desperately attempting to stay out of the target sight of an assassin.

Why does this spy thriller work where most have failed? Much of the credit has to go to the two key elements, one is the direction by Doug Liman who constantly keeps your attention from the starting frame, and the second is Matt Damon, who ironically not the first choice you would think of when you’re casting an action hero, but he pulls out off so perfectly that now you can’t imagine anyone else in the role.

Unlike James Bond, who is the “cool spy,” Jason Bourne is not cocky and flashy. Bourne is easily relatable because he is a normal guy, who by only attempting to do the right thing for his country has altered his life forever. He doesn’t drink dry martinis, drive around in fancy cars, or wears a tuxedo. Bourne is always on the run, given no time at all to catch his breath because he never knows when his luck will run out.

In fact the success of Jason Bourne even resulted in a whole re-imagining of James Bond, making him more rugged with Daniel Craig taking the torch away from the boring portrayal that Pierce Bronson did by emulating Roger Moore, emulating Sean Connery.

Any one looking for a top notch, edge of your seat thriller must (if you haven’t seen it already) add The Bourne Identity to their Blu-ray list, and then instantly watch the two follow-up sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004)

After the first Jason Bourne adventure, audiences wanted more and the beauty of The Bourne Supremacy is that it’s not your typical sequel that gives you the same thing over again with a bigger bang, it actually a stronger film that develops the lead character further and his situation further and stronger.

Matt Damon returns as the mysterious Jason Bourne who now has begun a new life with girlfriend Marie (Franke Potente), but his whole world is turned upside down when an enemy agent (played by Karl Urban) finds their location and targets them for death. Marie is killed in the attempt, sending Bourne on a mission of vengeance to find the answers and terminate the one who pulled the trigger.

This time around Paul Greengrass takes the helm as director, making you wonder why the original’s director Doug Liman walked away from such a gold mine. The pacing in Supremacy is much faster than the first, and the addition of Joan Allen as a CIA director (with the balls of Hillary Clinton), ups the ante in bringing a realistic tone to the action.

If you enjoyed the first film, this is one of those rear instances when you may discover that the sequel is actually better. Matt Damon is great, and you’re rooting for him as the action unfolds. By the end of the film all you’re thinking about is how things will be wrapped up in the third film, and how many sequels can actually pull that off?

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)

The last film in the trilogy took three years to hit theaters, but The Bourne Ultimatum was worth the wait, because it is so well executed that it will make you forget about that James Bond guy.

In this film Jason Bourne, (Matt Damon), is still on the run as he is being trailed by a CIA director (portrayed again by Joan Allen), as well as a reporter who is trying to find answers behind the Treadstone Project that was responsible for transforming Bourne into the person he is now. Every element is used to trap Bourne, but he is determined to find out the truth, by any means he can, resulting in an action packed adventure that wraps up the trilogy and finally uncovers the answers to who is Jason Bourne?

Director Paul Greengrass returns to the director’s chair, which is good, because his face paced styled was one of the highlights of Supremacy. This is one of the films that if you go the bathroom, you’ll miss a lot, because everything comes at you fast and furious, with results that are well thought out. This film has some of the best action to hit the screen in years and the best thing is that there are no CGI effects, just stunts and some of the best fight choreography you’re going to see.

The Bourne films will now be the standard to how future spy thrillers are measured, and anyone who has seen the last two Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, can see that even they have changed their style making 007 a real guy and doing away with all the gadgets and special effects in favor of stunts and elaborate fist fights.

Matt Damon has agreed to do another Bourne movie, so let’s just hope that all the elements that made this trilogy work are pushed higher to make his next adventure a worthy addition. For now The Bourne trilogy stands on it’s own and fans of the genre will be truly satisfied.

Tech Specs for The Bourne Identity:

VIDEO

Presented in full 1080p and framed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The Bourne Identity looks great. The film doesn’t pump up the flash and bright colors of a Bond film, going more for a darker tone that will make you think of another European spy thriller, Ronin. Skin tones are excellent, with sharp detail that allows you to see every bead of sweat on Damon’s face and blacks stay strong, with very little moments of grain. Overall, you won’t be disappointed.

AUDIO

With a DTS- HD lossless 5.1 master, The Bourne Ultimatum is definitely one to crank up the speakers for. Of the three film, this one has the least amount of action and much more dialogue, but it’s all crystal clear. The center speaker gets the biggest workout, but rear speakers pick up background effects clearly, the music provided by John Powell fills everything in nicely.

Tech Specs for The Bourne Supremacy:

VIDEO

Also presented in full 1080p and framed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Supremacy looks good, and goes for a brighter photography style than the original, particularly in the opening sequence. Details and colors are strong, but the grain is more obvious in this film than with Identity. Even with it’s small flaws you’ll be satisfied.

AUDIO

The DTS-HD Lossless 5.1 audio mix for Supremacy stands toe-to-toe with the first film, using the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it rule. There’s a lot more action in this film so your rear speakers will get much more of a workout. Overall, the experience is worth cranking up the speakers for.

Tech Specs for The Bourne Ultimatum:

VIDEO

The last film in the trilogy takes it up a notch with a much more fine-tuned image. Still presented in full 1080p and framed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Supremacy offers a much sharper image (maybe because it has the newest source print), and the action is much more frequent in this film delivering the true HD experience that you expect from Blu-ray. Image-wise, the saved the best for last.

AUDIO

The Bourne Ultimatum keeps it consistent with a DTS-HD Lossless 5.1 audio mix that will enhance all of the action in every way. Rear speakers are used more for this film because the action sequences come at you in all directions. Nothing at all to complain about, so if you have a surround sound system, you’re all set.

EXTRAS

All of the bonus features that were on the original DVDs and the HD-DVDs have been ported over for the Blu-ray release of the Bourne Trilogy, and it’s a great package that holds all three films in a silver case with a three dimensional cut out of Jason Bourne that seals it together. This is a box set that is worth the price because there’s so much packed in for each movie that it’ll take you days to watch them all.

Bonus Features for The Bourne Identity:

• Audio commentary from Director Doug Liman, which really goes deep in detail of his input in the film, making for something worth listening to.

• Access Granted: An interview with screenwriter Tony Gilroy, looks at how he adapted the novel to a movie for today’s audience.

• The Birth of Jason Bourne goes into what it took to bring Mr. Bourne to the big screen.

• The Bourne Mastermind pays tribute to author Robert Ludlum who created the character.

• Inside a Fight Sequence looks at the choreography that went into the film’s awesome hand-to-hand combat scenes.

• The Speed of Sound is a quick behind the scenes look at the movie’s audio design.

• Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops offers insight of the CIA by a former agent.

• The Bourne Diagnosis goes into the whole amnesia effect used in the film.

• Four deleted scenes are available, but none really add or take away anything from the theatrical version.

• The Alternate Ending is something worth seeing because it adds a different tone to the film, so watch and judge for yourself.

• If you’re a fan of Moby his ‘Extreme Ways’ music video should be a treat for you.

• Universal’s U-Control allows you to watch Picture-in-Picture (PiP) behind the scenes clips as you watch the film. There’s also The Treadstone Files that provides interactive dossiers of the film’s characters and locations.

Bonus Features for The Bourne Supremacy:

• Director Paul Greengrass provides an audio commentary track that is informative, but not as solid as Doug Liman’s track that focused more on the making of the specific scenes, but it’s worth listening to.

• Matching Identities dives into the casting of the production.

• Keeping it Real looks at Paul Greengrass’ style of camera work, that has a much different tone than the original film.

• Blowing Things Up shows how the explosives where created for the film.

• Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow looks at the films amazing car chase sequence.

• Bourne to Be Wild looks at the film’s kick ass fight choreography.

• The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action spotlights the camera work that went into the car chase sequence.

• Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene shows all the elements that went into the film’s main action sequence.

• Five deleted scenes are also available, but none make or break the film itself.

• U-Control offers a PiP view for interviews and behind the scenes clips. Bourne Orientation provides interactive motives for Jason Bourne’s actions.

Bonus Features for The Bourne Ultimatum:

• Director Paul Greengrass returns for another audio commentary track, and this one is better than the one he did for Supremacy, going deeper into the production including some issues he had with Matt Damon.

• Man on the Move: Jason Bourne goes into the multiple locations the film was shot, including Moscow, Paris, Madrid, Tangier and London, which also includes interviews from the cast and crew.

• Rooftop Pursuit shows how the kick-ass foot chase and fight sequence was designed.

• Planning the Punches goes into the fights performed by Jason Bourne.

• New York Chase dives behind the scenes of the film’s climatic sequence.

• A compilation of deleted scenes can be accessed, and the one that attempts to go deeper into Bourne’s mindset for his actions is worth watching.

• Via U-Control PiP you can access behind the scenes clips and on-set interviews.

• Be Bourne Game is an interactive trivia game that gets tired real fast.

• The Blackbriar Files allows you to access dossiers of the film’s characters, locations, and pivotal moments.

BOTTOM LINE

Even if you own the Bourne Trilogy on DVD or HD-DVD it’s worth having on Blu-ray as well. Each film is better than the previous, a true rarity, and the action sequences will keep you watching it repeatedly. The trilogy comes to Blu-ray with excellent picture and sound quality, as well as a great batch of extras. There are plenty of Blu-ray box sets out there trying to make you dip into your wallets, but The Bourne Trilogy is definitely worth the purchase because it gives you everything you want in one package. This is an absolute must own.

SCORES: (Out of 5):

The Bourne Identity:

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

The Bourne Supremacy:

The Movie: 4.5

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 3.5

The Bourne Ultimatum:

The Movie: 4.5

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 3.0

The Bourne Trilogy:

Bottom Line: 5.0