Jason Bourne vs. James Bond: scene vs. scene

I was recently in an argument with a friend about Jason Bourne and James Bond. Many have had similar arguments in the past, and I’m sure more will come in the future. But I wanted to clarify why I felt Jason Bourne is better.

The best way to do this is to go to the movies of these characters themselves. Looking almost side by side we can evaluate which is best. The video is a selection of perhaps the best scenes explaining the 2 characters.



For Bourne we see a man that is always in control of his situation. Even when it spirals away from his goals. He does not get flustered. He is economical with his action, always oriented on his end-point. Every action is meant to build his advantage.

Bourne has the highly difficult task of evading detection, for himself and a novice, in one of the most visible spots on the planet. He has to think on his feet, and react without hesitation. He must protect himself and his target. And he has to do so without gaining attention.

James Bond, especially this incarnation, takes things to the other direction. He is brutish, and if he spares a thought at all it is to how he might kill just a few more people. There is no question that he draws attention. There is no question that everyone in a mile can see him distinctly. And there is no question as to what he is after.

Bond relies more on luck and gall than intelligence. The fact no one expects him to do what he does is more of the saving grace than the logic of his actions. It also seems likely that without the multitude of gadgets, luck, and support personnel, Bond would be dead with a quickness.

Now I do enjoy both movies. I am a fan of both characters. I would easily see a film about either at any time. But if I had to choose, Bourne wins out. Intellect always trumps brute force. Bond may have more explosions (which is never bad) but Bourne has more of a thrill.

That’s the way I see it. Do you agree?

[And yes I do know I truncated the Bond sequence. I had to make it fit for the video. Besides, 4 minutes of chasing a bad guy through crowds, buildings, a road, and an embassy is more than a bit boring the second time through.]

JB head to head: Bond vs Bourne

So the big question of the post-election cycle is just one simple thing, is James Bond better than Jason Bourne. I’ve read a couple of opinions on this question and in general the answer has been mixed.

Most tend to focus on the question of looks of Daniel Craig or Matt Damon. Some compare the revenues of the films. Others take their cue from the critics or the action in each film. But I think the real question is the thinking of the characters.

Both characters think as much as they act. So if we compare just the thinking of the latest Bond, and Bourne what do we get? Bourne wins hands down.

Bond is out of his league when it comes to number of languages. That doesn’t me he is stupid, but it does limit him in some situations and cuts down his response time. Luckily he tends to always be surrounded by only well-spoken english speaking foes and spots in the world.

Bond also loses on spontaneous thought. Neither man looks like they have a plan, if you watch them casually. But Bourne always has a plan. As Nikki says,

“They don’t do random. There’s always a target, always a plan.”

He modifies it as he goes, but the plan is always there. In every movie he has a purpose and never expends more energy or makes himself more obvious than he needs.

Bond is always very visible. He tends to draw attention to himself. And his reaction time to events unfolding around him is slower than Bourne. Bond looks to figure out the big plan and then work down to the details, skipping a few points on the way.

Bourne is focused on the details, working his way up. He follows every detail and works from the shadows if at all possible. Bourne looks to misdirect and confuse to Bonds frontal attack.

Another problem for Bond, he needs gadgets. Mind you we all love the stuff he gets from Q. It’s cool stuff, perfect for the mission at hand. Sadly almost none of it survives a mission.

Bourne has never used anything more complicated than a tracking device. He is so low tech as to almost be stone age compared to Bond. Of course Bond never gets to beat down anyone with a pen, magazine, or a towel. I’m not sure Bond could if he needed to.

If they had to go up against each other Bourne wins in my opinion. Bond would likely never see Bourne coming after him, and I doubt he could keep up with him in a fight. Bond could never track Bourne down. And Bond sticks out in a crowd everywhere.

And the last thing that puts Bourne over Bond is the fact that Bond is not committed enough. Bond would die for Queen and country, but Bourne refuses to acknowledge pain or the thought of death. Once he has to act it is without regard to pain or physical consequence with everything in his surroundings adding to his arsenal of weapons. (I don't recall exactly but did Bourne ever shoot anyone besides the one guy in the field in the first movie?) Bond really hasn’t been in such a situation (yet) but he does not inspire the thought of absolute commitment that Bourne does.

In a different way of stating it, Bourne is a samurai to Bond’s cowboy. Both can be quite deadly, but your chances of surviving the cowboy is much higher.

Do you agree? Do you think Quantum of Solace will prove this wrong? Let me know if you see the movie this weekend.

Movies coming to theaters after the summer - 7.31.2007.4

As the countdown before the highly anticipated Bourne Ultimatum ticks lower I wanted to take a look at some of the films that are a bit farther off in the horizon. Sadly the end of summer this year seems to portend the end of what little originality we have seen. Along with the loss of uniqueness we get only a glance at the glimmer of interesting theatrical movie magic.

Let’s start with the remakes. As most readers know well, I hate the recent trend of ‘revisioning’. I liken it to say revisioning a prime rib done medium-rare (which is just perfect) with a slab of warm tofu. It may keep you alive, but it’s not the same experience. That is how I would equate some of the better recent re-makes. In the worst cases I would say it’s like have my brain grated with a cheese grater while listening to a duet of William Hung and Biz Mark E.

So having said that, joy of joys there is a remake of Halloween coming up. I’m sure it will be no less interesting than the (yawn) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I’m filled with giddy anticipation as we will most likely get either a scene for scene copy (minus the original interest or intensity), or a gore fest that can’t live up to the scares a bloodless original created. What a thrill ride there.

Also running the remake game is the 3rd version of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This time out of the gate the producers and movie execs have decided to cut the name to simply The Invasion so that younger viewers will not notice the connection to any other version. In yet another attempt of Hollywood to assume that the public is as dense as a twinkie, we see them saving money on original ideas to re-tread movies that were done well the first time only. While I doubt this film will have any real interest, I would be willing to bet that this time there will be an even more feminist twist to the storyline than the 2nd version. I’m sure this will work with movie-goers about as well as the re-visioned Hitcher movie did. Can you feel the blood just draining from your brain?

But wait, there is a movie approaching that is almost original. Yes, a movie that is not some new director’s wet-dream of a ticket to everlasting fame having bested a master filmmaker. Before you get too giddy, its another global-warming film. The 11th Hour. Buzzkill I know. But if you feel that the world is ending in a ball of flame and smoke by next Tuesday, you will probably flock to this film. The only thing I can say is I hope they sell broccoli sticks instead of popcorn at the theater. It will leave less of a carbon footprint.

You may ask is there any film that I might be looking forward to in the near term? One so far is, War, which will be starring Mr. Jet Li and Mr. Jason Statham. Both are proven action movie actors. While the storyline might not be the most original, action movies are not really known about plot. I would imagine that this will be a very fast paced movie that will live up to at least one aspect of expectations, a lot of people will get beat up. I can accept that, and considering the moves both men have shown in the past the film should not disappoint on that level.

If there is a fight scene between the 2 men, I’m guessing that Mr. Statham will win or at least that the leading edge. His star is still rising, and Mr. Li is moving away from fighting in his films, or so it has been reported as they violate is buhddist (as I recall) views.

Well there you have it. Enjoy the Bourne Ultimatum, there isn’t much else that seems to be a big draw. If I’m wrong I will let you know. So far, in terms of remakes at least, I don’t recall missing yet.

This is what I think, what do you think?

What movie will you go see? - 3.20.2007.2

So what are you planning to watch this summer? There is a huge list of movies coming out soon, and for once there are several that look quite good. An obvious choice would be Pirates of the Caribbean 3 or the Harry Potter movies. Another solid choice is Spiderman 3. But what about a movie that isn’t a sequel of a good idea?

Well there aren’t a lot of choices for the non-repeat films. Even horrible films such as the Fantastic Four have a sequel. Why? No idea, it’s not as if the first film was good. Perhaps the teenage boys hoping to peak at an invisible Ms. Jessica Alba is the motivation. I really can’t imagine it being much else. While I am a fan of the Silver Surfer, and his effects look quite good, I doubt that this movie will do justice to him or Galactus. Perhaps I will be wrong, but they screwed up Dr. Doom and the initial storyline so I doubt this will be better. Wait for the DVD.

Another sequel that has gone one movie too far is Rush Hour 3. I love Mr. Jackie Chan, he is quite accomplished and has made multiple good movies. Rush Hour 2 was not one of them and I fear 3 will rank beside The Tuxedo. Mr. Chris Tucker was good in the limited role in Fifth Element, and decent in the original film. But his acting abilities are stretched to breaking in the subsequent film and I believe will have snapped in this film. Don’t expect much and you may get just that. Get the bootleg DVD.

A possibly good movie sequel could be Ocean’s Thirteen. The cast is back plus someone else. Someone that you would never expect. No it’s not the baby. Ms. Ellen Barkin seems to be taking over the role done by Ms. Julia Roberts. And Mr. Al Pacino is the bad guy. That is the main reason this may be good. He picks his roles well. The rest of the cast are solid, and obviously they work together as well as a cast of stars can. But I just don’t get how they have the 13th member on the team. We will see. I’d go to the theater for this. (a trailer for this film is out now.)

Another positive choice should be the last in the Jason Bourne series, the Bourne Ultimatum. The final part of a 3 book series, of which the movies do not follow the books verbatim, this should be great. The first 2 films were well done. Mr. Matt Damon has handled the role expertly each time previously. He sells the action sequences well and his acting is above par. The writing and plots make sense and are intelligent. This may be the best outside of Pirates and Spiderman. Definitely a movie theater choice.

Other choices that are up for grabs include The Simpson’s Movie, another sequel Evan Almighty (following up Bruce Almighty), and the Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I can’t even guess how these will go.

Oh don’t let me forget the Transformers movie. Considering the supposed focus of the film will be the humans I won’t see it. There is no point if the title characters are not the main feature of the film. Not to mention that the main audience of the movie are over a decade past 20-something, not appealing to what they remember is a bad choice. But I’m sure they will get the toy sales. If the movie is not focused on the Autobots or Decepticons, hold onto your memories and wallets and let it fade away.

But I can’t imagine where the original films are. I mean even an original version of a book that hasn’t already been done. I know that the Steven King sons have a script available. There have to be others. Hollywood has not done every idea ever made. Heck there are a number of good comic books that are just waiting to have their characters transferred to the big screen. Forbid the fact that someone actually has an idea. Or a really good one. The shock will just be too great. Until then expect to hear about Rush Hour 4, the Carrot Man movie, Friends the Movie and the adaptation of The Sword of Shanara.

This is what I think, what do you think?