Bourne = perfect liberal hero

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Last Friday Times Online critic Cosmo Landesman hit on a political aspect in The Bourne Ultimatum (having opened in England that day) that I don't remember any U.S. critic saying quite as concisely -- Matt Damon's Jason Bourne is the ultimate left-thinking super-baddie, "the John Rambo of the liberal intelligentsia."

Ultimatum "is a great and liberating [occasion] for liberal-kind," Landesman observes. "For them, spy heroes have always been suspect: Bond was too much of a sexist, [Arnold] Schwarzenegger (True Lies) too right-wing and Vin Diesel (xXx) too dumb. But Bourne allows liberals to enjoy all the forbidden pleasures of the espionage blockbuster: they can see him kick ass, break necks, smash faces and shoot fellow human beings, and not complain about civil liberties because the victims work for the CIA.

"Bourne is the perfect liberal hero -- he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have a fantastic secret-agent body, a tuxedo or a taste for martinis and one-night stands. He is fluent in five languages, drives brilliantly in any city and, as we see here, even reads The Guardian. More important, he blames the system for his sins and is consumed with liberal guilt for what he has done. Perfect."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 20, 2007 at 9:57 AM

comment #1

starfunker says ...

He also wears bio-degradable underwear, and turns off his computer every night before bed. Yummy.

Posted by starfunker at August 20, 2007 10:14 AM

comment #2

Wrecktum says ...

I'm still waiting to find out what the ultimatum was in The Bourne Ultimatum.

Posted by Wrecktum at August 20, 2007 10:16 AM

comment #3

Josh Massey says ...

Sounds more libertarian to me.

Posted by Josh Massey at August 20, 2007 10:30 AM

comment #4

christian says ...

i loved the scene where he killed that one guy with hardbound copies of zinn and chomsky.

Posted by christian at August 20, 2007 10:33 AM

comment #5

Joe M. says ...

I enjoyed the film, though I found it to be not too terribly different from the preceeding two. Two things, though, could have been done better: why was that one agent revealing secrets to the reporter in the first place? First, I thought it was guilt over being part of the whole black ops operation, but then we saw that he was picking up a briefcase full of money at one point. Was the reporter, or someone else, bribing him? I know reporters don't usually pay for stories, but then, why the scene with the money? Of course, the guy's, uh... character arc is quickly done any with before we got any answers. I thought it was another example of coherence and story being sacrificed to pacing. The other thing was, Albert Finney looked too damn much like Brian Cox's character from the first two films, making me think for several minutes that the big revelation was that the character had faked his suicide at the end of the second film and was now back. But even as I was annoyed at the needless confusion foisted on me by the film, I was amused that my own momentary- and incorrect- plot assumptions were more clever than anything that was actually in the film. After all, it WOULD have been great if that was the Brian Cox character resurfacing!

Posted by Joe M. at August 20, 2007 11:40 AM

comment #6

KevinTC says ...

The 'Ultimatum': shoot the guy with the hood on or you don't work for us. Maybe.

Posted by KevinTC at August 20, 2007 12:18 PM

comment #7

Midwest Doug says ...

Not to mention that Bourne typically drives smaller cars as he escapes from SUV's. Or that he's heavily reliant on public transportation.

My big question with Ultimatum: when were we ever introduced to the brother of Bourne's sig other? That just seemed like a random scene.

Posted by Midwest Doug at August 20, 2007 12:29 PM

comment #8

Andy D says ...

Jeff, it's Cosmo (not Condo) Landesman.

Posted by Andy D at August 20, 2007 12:51 PM

comment #9

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

This is pretty much what I've been saying about this series. It's Bond in a world where other countries don't exist-- yes, they exist as backdrops, yet try to think of a moment in which anyone was ever identified as working for any foreign country or any entity other than the CIA. It's the perfect action movie series for isolationist leftists for whom other countries, other threats like Communism or Islamic terrorism aren't quite real-- they're just props in the great drama of resentment against the US for Vietnam and globalization and Starbucks and all the other undergraduate sins. If a Chinese spy or a Palestinian bombmaker entered the hermetically US-focused world of this series, it would all fall to pieces, because it would have to deal with the idea that Bourne might have a real job to perform and a real mission to serve, other than exorcising his own personal demons. The thriller as therapy couldn't withstand having to acknowledge that the real demons are sometimes on the outside.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at August 20, 2007 12:56 PM

comment #10

Michael says ...

He's a Catholic from rural Missouri. I guess there is no zealot like the convert.

Also, the spy who speaks to the reporter makes the single dumbest move EVER in spy movie history. The idea that he goes from Madrid to Tangier on a known identity/his own identity (I forget which) to follow a wire transfer (!) and pick up cash...I mean, why didn't he just kill himself? I felt this was the one aspect that was beneath Greengrass...otherwise it was awesome.

Posted by Michael at August 20, 2007 1:12 PM

comment #11

Stephe96 says ...

Liberals don't work for the CIA? I wonder what Valerie Plame thinks of that...

Posted by Stephe96 at August 20, 2007 1:33 PM

comment #12

Joe M. says ...

Great comments, Andy D. Just on a pure "intriguing concept" level, why couldn't the experiment to create Bourne be BOTH a deplorable and a necessary one? Might be a good idea for a fourth installment: have this amazing, super deadly adversary that no one but Bourne has a chance to beat. Then all the goody two shoes (and hey, I admit I'm one) in the movie who were appalled by the creation of Bourne have to secretly be happy he WAS created. Would be a great scene for Joan Allen to play. She's great with those complex expressions.

Posted by Joe M. at August 20, 2007 1:36 PM

comment #13

Joe M. says ...

Great comments, Mgmax. Just on a pure "intriguing concept" level, why couldn't the experiment to create Bourne be BOTH a deplorable and a necessary one? Might be a good idea for a fourth installment: have this amazing, super deadly adversary that no one but Bourne has a chance to beat. Then all the goody two shoes (and hey, I admit I'm one) in the movie who were appalled by the creation of Bourne have to secretly be happy he WAS created. Would be a great scene for Joan Allen to play. She's great with those complex expressions.

Posted by Joe M. at August 20, 2007 1:38 PM

comment #14

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

Then, instead of being the left-liberal isolationist response to Bond in a post-911 world, it would turn into the rightwing-interventionist response to Bond in a post-911 world-- 24.

Which would be appropriate, since the last season of 24 ended with Jack "Torture Is My First Resort" Bauer suddenly whining that the bad bosses had made him that way, just like Bourne....

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at August 20, 2007 1:50 PM

comment #15