It’s been nearly a decade since audiences last saw Jason Bourne run across the big screen, but that’ll change this week with Paul Greengrass’ fittingly-titled “Jason Bourne.” And while most know the film series began with Doug Liman’s “The Bourne Identity” in 2002, not as many likely read the source material that inspired it, Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel of the same name, nor do they know how the film adaptation compares to the nearly 600-page book. That’s where Cineflix comes in handy with “The Bourne Identity – What’s the Difference?,” their latest video essay.
One of the biggest differences between Ludlum’s book and Liman’s film is the state of Bourne’s injuries at the beginning of the story. In Liman’s film, the super spy merely gets two bullets in the back, and then gets rescued by a passing ship and nursed back to health in a matter of weeks. In Ludlum’s book, however, Bourne is littered with bullets, including one in his head, and is thrown off an exploding boat, only to later be rescued by a drunken doctor on shore and left to recover over the course of six months. Both are rather silly in their own rights, but the movie is perhaps a little more efficient, where the book is a little more practical in their execution.
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With that said, however, the film chooses to use Bourne’s recovery as a more existential journey, exploring his mindset during this pivotal life moment and following the character as he re-examines his choices. The book, meanwhile, uses Bourne’s recovery in a more “nuts-and-bolts” sorta way, letting the character be awakened to the world around him, as he uses his international journey to discover his identity in the most black-and-white sense. This seems to be the biggest divergence between both stories.
The book takes the airport-read route, providing an enjoyable page-turner involving a literally lost-at-sea spy. The film, on the other hand, is a more meditative examination on these circumstances, all while still providing all the action beats you’d come to expect from the series throughout the next few installments. Both are effective in their own right. They’re just different, especially after the initial setup. To see how they differ, check out the video.