The Jason Bourne franchise is among the greatest collection of motion motion pictures ever made they usually ran for greater than a decade, with talks of probably extra to come back. For somebody who’s simply beginning to get within the movies, it may be tough to know the place to begin because the installments aren’t numbered.
A brand new viewer to the motion film franchise will not know off-hand if they need to begin with Jason Bourne, The Bourne Identification, or The Bourne Legacy. It is a collection the place the timeline is vital, particularly throughout the unique trilogy. There are additionally over a dozen Jason Bourne novels, so wanting there may solely add to the confusion.
The Bourne Identification (2002)
The unique trilogy within the Jason Bourne franchise is customized from the three novels by Robert Ludlum, which got here out between 1980 and 1990. The primary movie is The Bourne Identification, which was launched in theaters in June 2002. The premise was excellent for giving us a brand new form of motion film.
As an alternative of beginning us with a hero already within the midst of a combat or giving us an origin story, The Bourne Identification form of does each. We begin with a person with two gunshot wounds being rescued at sea by fishermen. He has no recollection of what occurred, how he obtained there, or who he’s.
That permits the viewers to go on this journey together with the character, that means we by no means know all that rather more than the protagonist, Jason Bourne, performed by Matt Damon. He delivers one in all his greatest performances as we watch his character put collectively the items of his study and study extra about his previous.
Bourne learns that he is a spy with a connection to the CIA, setting the stage for an intense thriller with the anticipated motion sequences thrown in to maintain the viewers’s coronary heart charge up. The movie was a widespread success on virtually each possible stage.
The Bourne Identification grossed over $200 million and let the world know that Matt Damon may lead his personal motion film. It was additionally a essential darling, to the tune of an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score. The film additionally ends in a method that makes you excited to see what’s coming subsequent.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
It seems that what was coming subsequent was extra greatness, as The Bourne Supremacy was greater than a worthy sequel. This movie picks up two years after the occasions of the primary and sees Jason residing in Goa, India, with Marie Kreutz, the girl he shaped a relationship with in The Bourne Identification.
He is nonetheless battling placing collectively the items of his identification when he will get framed by Russian oil magnate Yuri Gretkov and his murderer Kirill. When Kirill reveals up in India to take out Jason, he kills Marie as an alternative, which sends Bourne on a revenge mission to the USA.
That is the movie that basically established the partnership between Jason Bourne and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), a CIA agent who was introduced in from her post-Treadstone project to assist seek for Bourne. In the end, it is corrupt CIA brokers who had been behind the framing of Bourne.
The Bourne Supremacy was, like its predecessor, a success on each a essential and industrial stage. The success of the primary movie allowed this one to have an even bigger funds and it went on to gross greater than $300 million. The movie holds an 81% Rotten Tomatoes score and units up the third entry expertly.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
That is the place the timeline of the Jason Bourne franchise will get a bit attention-grabbing. Whereas a few years handed between the primary two installments, the timelines of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum overlap. The ending of the previous sees deputy director Pamela Landy disclose to Bourne that his actual identify is David Webb.
Nonetheless, The Bourne Ultimatum options just about the identical scene, inflicting some confusion. It is by no means explicitly acknowledged, however the scene on the finish of The Bourne Supremacy is definitely a flash-forward of kinds to 6 weeks into the long run, with the scene going down after the occasions of The Bourne Ultimatum.
There are some convoluted points to this installment and star Matt Damon was reportedly not proud of early takes on the screenplay. That mentioned, the film delivers all the things that followers had come to like concerning the franchise, from the tense unraveling thriller about Bourne to enjoyable cat-and-mouse motion.
Bourne will get extra assist from Pamela Landy and Nicky Parsons, giving him allies in his tough scenario. By the tip of the story, he is realized all the things he wanted to as he escaped and went on the run, giving this a satisfying conclusion.
The Bourne Ultimatum as soon as once more noticed the funds go up, surpassing $100 million. Nonetheless, so did the field workplace with this installment pulling in nicely over $400 million. It additionally has the franchise’s highest Rotten Tomatoes rating at 92%, that means it might’ve sat as the right capper for a stellar trilogy.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
As is commonly the case with profitable film franchises, even after a narrative is finished being advised, extra installments are launched. 5 years after The Bourne Ultimatum, we obtained a brand new entry in The Bourne Legacy, and whereas that sounded intriguing to many, issues had been fairly totally different this time round.
After Doug Liman directed the primary movie, Paul Greengrass took over for the following two. Greengrass and Damon had solid a robust bond and when Greengrass wasn’t introduced again to direct the fourth entry, Damon additionally declined to return. That meant a Jason Bourne film with out Jason Bourne.
As an alternative, Tony Gilroy took over as director, whereas Jeremy Renner took the reins because the lead, taking part in Aaron Cross. Curiously, a lot of this film really takes place concurrently The Bourne Ultimatum, additional including to a number of the franchise’s complicated timeline points.
With Jason Bourne on the verge of exposing numerous black ops applications, one in all them, often known as Operation Consequence, chooses to kill all its brokers. Cross survives the assault and will get hunted down by these behind Operation Consequence, giving us the plot of The Bourne Legacy. Pam Landy even reveals up, serving to to attach the movies.
The field workplace for The Bourne Legacy was down from the unique trilogy, capping out at just below $300 million. With the funds at round $125 million, it was a stable success. That mentioned, this was the primary movie within the franchise to obtain combined evaluations, with most saying that it wasn’t as compelling as what got here earlier than.
Jason Bourne (2016)
The 2010s noticed a whole lot of franchises try crossovers and shared universes, so when phrase obtained round that Matt Damon was returning to this collection, many believed we might see him and Jeremy Renner share the display screen. Alas, that ended up not being the case, as just a few issues prevented that from taking place.
Paul Greengrass got here again to direct 2016’s Jason Bourne and determined to place the main target again on the titular character on his personal. Renner additionally had scheduling conflicts that prevented it. This installment offers us the most important bounce within the timeline, going ahead 12 years after the occasions of The Bourne Ultimatum.
Though it takes place a lot later, it additionally offers us extra about Bourne’s origins. Nicky Parsons returns to provide Bourne details about the killer who murdered his father, solely to be killed herself. Bourne investigates and finds himself caught up in one other internet of lies and conspiracies.
The movie may be one other showcase for Damon, however it does boast a terrific supporting solid. He is joined by Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Tommy Lee Jones, Riz Ahmed, and extra. The tip end result was one other field workplace consumption of greater than $400 million, making Jason Bourne a rousing success.
Regardless of performing nicely commercially, critics had been fairly combined on Jason Bourne. Which means the 2 most up-to-date installments of the franchise are the least critically acclaimed, marking an unlucky downward development.
Future Of The Jason Bourne Franchise
So far, there have been no new motion pictures within the collection since Jason Bourne. There was a short-lived spin-off present titled Treadstone, however that is it. There have been a number of makes an attempt to do one thing subsequent, but none have come to fruition.
The newest replace was in August 2025, when NBCUniversal acquired the rights to all of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne franchise outdoors of publishing, so something new must come from them.
- Created by
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Robert Ludlum
- Character(s)
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Jason Bourne, Marie Helena Kreutz, Nicolette Parsons, Ward Abbott, Nykwanna Wombosi, Aaron Cross, Dr. Marta Shearing