Bourne

Okay, I like - not love - the Borne movies. This last one is good as well. I'm not sure any of the three can be considered a standout.

In spy movies, there are two overriding subgenres based mostly around the type of spy protagonist. It can best be defined by James Bond vs. George Smiley. Bond is obviously the Ian Fleming gentlemanly super spy and George Smiley is the John LeCarre humble, thrifty wisened spy.

Bourne falls more into the James Bond category, but without the cartoonish elements...selling itself as the smarter and more realistic (relatively, of course) James Bond. On that level it works well.

I personally prefer the LeCarre protagonist, thoughtful, realistic, morally gray.

The spy story has several eras. The first era developed around the time of the "Great Game," where European nations battled for control over the world. Spies were used by Russia, Britain, France, and all the players to establish networks of information. Kipling's Kim and Conrad's the Secret Agent are the most notable.

Then there is the WWI and WWII spy era, again involving mostly Europe and the bad guy Boshevicks and Nazis...I don't know much about this era of fiction, many of the true to life stories are great, though.

Then came the richest period, the Cold War. Most the spy stories and films I watch and like are cold war spy stories. Again, this is where the LeCarre and Bond dichotomy rose.

Then there is the post cold war era, between 1991-2001 that I call the tech-spy era...I think of it in terms of movies mostly, Enemy of the State and Sneakers, where the concentration moved toward electronic spying and uber control. I do not like this era of spy stories.

Bourne is a cold war character placed in a tech-spy era. It is a movie with an ethos of pre 9/11/

We are yet to see a great post 9/11 spy movie. We are ripe to get one at some point...a post 9/11 spy movie would eschew the tech-spy genre and revert back to a more LeCarre, human int style of conflict. It would also find a ripe new bad guy: Islamic Fundamentalists to play the role of Russian spymaster from the Cold War era. But there is a crucial difference in this new type of spy movie that mustn't be neglected. It will be asymmetric, as in the Islamicists will not have as many resources as the Americans (note: Bourne does a great job of showing asymmetry b/c the CIA has all the resources available and they can't get Bourne...he does what they do but faster, simpler, and cheaper). It will also have to highlight American spying failures...because it is clear the myth of the all powerful CIA was shattered on the day nineteen douche bags were able to launch a devastating attack on American soil. That being said, there is still good and evil and good people doing shady things...