I wanted to compare Jason Bourne with James Bond. Funny, they have the same first letters for both first name and the last name (quite silly, I know). But the similarity ends there.

Jason Bourne

He’s more close to reality. I mean the bourne movies draw you in instantly. Bourne gets hurt, groans and limps like everyone of us. The movie makers say what he is and they do justice to that. He’s broken down, trained hard as an assassin and always taught to finish the job no matter what. An objective always at hand and a target to hunt. He’s methodical in going about his task, never makes mistakes, finds new ways to fool his adversaries and stays ahead of them. And his lines, wow. One of his best lines would be when he calls CIA deputy director Noah Vosen to get his voice ID for a safe. Such lines make up for the lack of humour in Bourne movies. Brilliantly done with no gimmicks. The women, they have a definite part to play and never get objectified. And action? Well, no pointless gun fights, where enemies shoot everywhere but at the man. Actually, there’s no gun fight in Bourne movies if you come to think of it. A thing reminiscent of Bourne movies are car chases, shuttling between cities at either ends of the world - Goa, Moscow, Naples, London, Tangier, Berlin - and he speaks every existent language flawlessly! Heck, he comes close to a Super hero.

James Bond

I have nothing against this British chap. In fact, I like him as he is, ruthless and cold. Just that he depends too much on espionage gadgetry, Aston Martins and girls to complete his missions to suit my taste. Except for his iconic introduction ‘Bond, James Bond’, he does not much impress me with designer clothes and glasses. Beyond the occasional British pun, which goes over my head, there’s nothing funny about him. The only thing reminiscent in Bond movies are girls, gadgets and casinos with lots of Martinis to boot. Women are objectified to such an extent that you want to burst out laughing. He would bed them in one scene and next he will be somewhere in Nambia. Standard thing, never changed. I have to appreciate the villains though. They were from all over the world. The only consistent character was Judi Dench as ‘M’ in the recent Bond movies. You always stop short of groaning when skis latch on to his shoes at the click of a watch or when Aston-Martins convert into speedboats. True, every man would salivate at his gadgets, watches and cars but for how long. The recent movie, ‘Casino Royale’ shows promise to break these stereotypes to some extent. It shows him vulnerable, sensitive and for once not just playing with the lead lady. And of course, less gadgetry. Of all Bond movies, I liked only this one.

I think Bourne in just 3 movies is much more cooler than Bond in 21 movies. Watch this Bourne Ultimatum spoof… Hilarious.

February 1st, 2008 Subscribe to the RSS feed!