UnBourne

Most of this entry will be in the extended section. If you plan to see the Bourne Supremacy or read the Bourne Legacy, you'd probably best skip this entry. I can't drag myself to see The Bourne Supremacy. I've seen the previews. The movie looks good. It looks good, that is, if you're not a big Ludlum fan, and if you haven't read the books in the Bourne series.

I did see The Bourne Identity, and I was very irritated with the shallow plot. I realize it was nearly impossible to portray the details of the book (which are what make it such a good books), but the plot suffered horribly from the lack of inclusion of the man searching for his identity, being horrified when learning the pieces, and then in the end not being that person at all. Matt Damon is not my Jason Bourne, as my mother says. Hello - book's premise is also based on Vietnam. I didn't see any jungle.

So the previews for The Bourne Supremacy don't do much for me. I'm expecting Marie to be kidnapped, y'know, and maybe an assassin pretending to be Jason Bourne. I'm expecting some reference to Carlos, but I'm sure there'll be none of that. I certainly didn't see anything that looked like Hong Kong in those previews. I hope the writers have to wash themselves twice every night.

Also this year, Eric Van Lustbader revived the Bourne character in print. If you've never read one of Ludlum's Bourne novels, then this new book was excellent. If you have, though, you might find yourself scratching your head one too many times for book bliss.

There's no real distinction between David Webb and Jason Bourne. In this book, The Bourne Legacy, Jason Bourne has FEELINGS. And there's no real conflict between the two personalities. Huh? Where'd that come from? I promise it was bizarre. It's as if Lustbader hadn't bothered to re-read the trilogy when he penned this piece. Who is this person? He, also, is not my Jason Bourne...and probably not yours, either. I miss Robert Ludlum, who probably wouldn't have written another Bourne book. David Webb/Jason Bourne were getting a bit old in The Bourne Ultimatum. But that, too, is glossed over.

hln

Posted by hln at August 1, 2004 09:24 PM | RANT | TrackBack