WHY?
Doug Liman's Bourne re-invented the Espionage/Action thriller with it's gritty, fast-paced yet sober cinematography and its surgical fight sequences. So successful was this offering that the Bond reset borrowed those very elements for its own renaissance, going as far as casting an actor that looks like Matt Damon's incarnation of Jason Bourne (the original one, played by soap-y 70s stalwart Richard Chamberlain, arguably felt lifted from the Roger Moore era of 007). Although I doubt Bourne would be caught dead in those blue trunks that made many a lady fawn for Casino Royale's soaking Craig. But back to the original statement, the 2000s adaptations of Bourne & Bond have an awful lot in common. So let's cage them up together and see who comes out alive.
THE PLAYERS
Jason Bourne : Matt Damon
Matty got his first role, even if small, at 18 in 1988 and on the big screen alongside Lily Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio and Julia Roberts. 9 years later, after playing bit-parts a-holes and d-bags in a variety of films from School Ties to Chasing Amy, he scored his first huge role in a movie he co-wrote that got him a pair of Oscar noms and a win, among a plethora of other awards. Since then he established himself as one of the most solid and versatile screen actors on the planet, equally at ease playing vile miscreants (Interstellar, Mr. Ripley, The Departed), bumbling pushovers (The Informant, True Grit, Ocean's 11), or classic Hollywood heroes (The Great Wall, All the Pretty Horses, Bourne...). Very few if any of his acting choices were duds, and he never becomes too big-headed to appear in blink and you'll miss it cameos that only the most vigilant of viewer can recognize him for. At 50 he already has his status of Tinseltown Legend secured, acclaimed and respected for his work both in front and behind the cameras; decades from now his name will be mentioned alongside the likes of Redford, Eastwood, Cagney and Fonda.
James Bond : Daniel Craig
Older than Damon by 2 years, Danny Boy got in front of cameras 2 years later as well, but mostly on the small screen, playing bit parts and guest roles in series that no one remembers (Covington Cross, Boon), no one WANTS to remember (Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, the 90s half-hour Zorro) or no one remembers his appearance in (Drop the Dead Donkey, Sharpe, Heartbeat). He started getting noticed in the early 2000s, with small parts in big-bucks movies (Lara Croft, Road to Perdition, The Jacket) and front roles in specialty movies (Sylvia, Layer Cake, Munich). His big break finally came with Casino Royale which in 2006 rebooted the long-dwindling Bond franchise with great aplomb and success. However outside MI6 most of his efforts aren't worth checking out, much less remembering (Flashbacks of a Fool, Cowboys & Aliens, The Golden Compass, Dream House). More recently though, the looming specter (snark) of leaving the Bond role seems to have motivated him to select better projects. Logan Lucky in 2017 was no bank-breaker but got solid kudos, and 2019's sleeper hit Knives Out offered him the chance to create from scratch an entirely new master sleuth worthy of crossing iron with Holmes, Marple or Marlowe. Out of that, a new and interesting franchise could secure his financial future for years.
Advantage:Jason Bourne
RATINGS (on Rotten Tomatoes)
Jason Bourne : Identity sits at 83%, Supremacy at 82%, Ultimatum a whopping 92%, and Jason Bourne a splattering 54%.
James Bond : Casino Royale reigns at 95%, Quantum drops to 65%, Skyfall rises to 92%, Spectre drops again to 63%.
Advantage:Jason Bourne
BOX-OFFICE
Jason Bourne
The Bourne Identity: 214,034,224
The Bourne Supremacy : 290,835,269
The Bourne Ultimatum: 444,100,035
Jason Bourne: 415,484,914
TOTAL: $1,394,454,442
James Bond
Casino Royale: 616,501,619
Quantum of Solace: 589,580,482
Skyfall: 1,108,561,013
Specter: 880,674,609
TOTAL: $3.195.317.723
Advantage:James Bond
ANALYSIS
Literature-speaking, there probably IS no Jason Bourne without James Bond; one can even argue the former's initials are an homage to the latter. Credit where credit's due, Ian Fleming's creation was and still is a massively influential one, both on the page and on the screen with 14 books and 26 movies to carry the character forward. However the style, content and characterization of Casino Royale were to The Bourne Identity what every possible film making company were to Marvel Studios after their instigation of the 'Shared Cinematic Universe': "Holy CRA*P let's do THAT!". The 007 franchise had been struggling to stay afloat ever since it was taken to space in the late-70, and despite a step in the better direction in casting Pierce Brosnan to erase the Tim Dalton stinkers (sorry Timmy, they just sucked), the ship was still taking on water; the character was becoming increasingly anachronistic and simply nothing fresh could be squeezed from it.
Bourne arrived in 2002 theaters like a demolition train through a stale pile of past-due bunt cakes. It was fresh, it was fast, it was gritty, down and dirty, and you just did not f**k with that guy yet couldn't help love him. Sadly by the time the obligatory trilogy was achieved, the studio efforts to copy the copier, pull a Bond and transfer the franchise on someone else's shoulders, felt every bit the milk-to-the-last that it was and failed to generate any interest from critics nor viewers. Having cast as the new lead an actor so over-exposed even 1990s Tommy Lee Jones was rolling his eyes, was maybe not the best move. And when an attempt to back-track to the original star came along, no one gave a shaken Martini anymore. Still, the franchise a s while was a shot in the arm for non-FX heavy action movies and gave MGM an lesson on how to Viagra the life back into an ageing property.
Advantage:Jason Bourne
WINNER: Jason Bourne
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