Bourne, Jason Bourne

Eileen and I caught The Bourne Ultimatum the other day for our anniversary. What a great film! It has officially, topped Live Free or Die Hard as the best action flick of the summer.  I want to compare two movie spies: Bourne and Bond in their latest films (The Bourne Ultimatum and Casino Royale). With Casino Royale, the producers of Bond "rebooted" the franchise and actually paid a lot of "homage" to Bourne. Bond became more human and the film itself became more gritty. But, Bourne comes back with Ultimatum and shows Bond who rules the Spy nest: Bourne. For me, in this new age of spies, Bourne rules.  Bourne is still more real-world, even compared to Casino Royale's Bond.  Bourne survives on his own, using his own wit and outsmarting the baddies.  Bond has the support of MI6 behind him (and all the financial support of England).  Bourne is a refined killer and kills only when it is absolutely necessary.  Bond is a crazed fanatic in Casino Royale and was blood thirsty from the get go (how else can he earn his Double-O status without killing people?).  In a fight, Bourne uses things from his surrounds smartly to end the fight (books, newspapers, magazines, candlestick holders).  Bond relies on brute force.  This is not to say that I think Bond is bad -- no way, I love the new Bond.  The new Bond is a lot better that the previous aging Bonds.  I am just saying that for movies, if I had to choose one to watch, I would prefer Bourne over Bond.