Is Jason Bourne the greatest action hero of this century?
In which we pit him against unstoppable combat machines including Ethan Hunt of ‘Mission Impossible,’ John McClane of ‘Die Hard,’ and Bond, James Bond.
Friday’s release of Jason Bourne comes 14 years after Matt Damon first graced the silver screen as the titular character, and nine years after he last appeared as the memory-afflicted CIA agent in 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum. In that time, a lot has changed. 2008 was the year in which Iron Man was released, kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe and cementing the 2010s as the superhero decade. As a result, movies about action heroes whose only superpowers are their fists have been relegated to secondary status.There are still successful franchises starring globetrotting super spies, policemen who go above and beyond in the line of duty, and hardened criminals with a soft side and fierce loyalty to their friends. But chances are that most tentpole action films of the summer will involve superheroes, aliens, or gigantic robots.As we stated in our showdown between Jason Bourne, Bruce Wayne, and Captain America, Damon knows how to get things done without superhuman strength or a billionaire budget. But ultimately, it’s unfair to compare Bourne with heroes like Wayne and Caps. (Spoiler alert: Chris Evans’s Captain America took the trophy in our matchup.) Instead, consider this question: Setting aside the superhuman sci-fi heroes for a moment and focusing on the Average Joes, is Jason Bourne the best of the bunch?To figure it out, we took a look at a slate of action heroes from the 21st century to see how they compared to Damon’s rogue ex-CIA killing machine. We considered movie quality, box office numbers, and other intangibles, like their secret weapons and how much their best action scenes made you jump out of your seat and cheer.
When compiling this list, we used these guidelines:
- If you’re a superhero, or fighting aliens, ghosts, futuristic robots, or anything else not naturally occurring on Earth, you didn’t make the cut. (Better luck next time, Cade Yeager, aka Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Alice aka Milla Jovovich in the Resident Evil franchise.)
- The franchise needs at least three films, with two in the last decade. (See ya later, Martin Riggs of Lethal Weapon, the ladies of the Charlie’s Angels franchise, and John Rambo — of Rambo, duh).
- There can be funny moments, but we’re only looking into movies that are action-only. (Sorry, Rush Hour and 21 Jump Street.) (Sorry also, Channing Tatum fangirls.)
- You’re allowed to keep it classy and wear a suit, but there have to be at least a couple fistfights, chase scenes, and general mayhem in the series. Basically, no Ocean’s 11 allowed. (Sorry… Ocean’s 11.)
With all that in mind, let’s do this…
Ethan Hunt, Mission Impossible
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.’
Number of movies: 5
Average domestic box office (adjusted for inflation): $262.5 million
Top-rated: Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011) — 94%
Lowest-rated: Mission: Impossible 2 (2001) — 57%
Secret weapon: An endless supply of perfect masks.
Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt might be the closest analogue to Bourne today. Hunt is also part of an elite spy agency, and he finds himself sold out by his own government or double-crossed by key figures at every turn. Cruise also imbues the character with a controlled desperation, a trait shared by Bourne. Twenty years after the franchise’s debut, Cruise is still bringing his A-game to the character, raking in both the millions and the critical praise, all while somehow maintaining the wide-eyed intensity that made him a star in his youth.
Coolest action scene: While it’s hard to beat the laser-filled break-in scene in the original Mission: Impossible (1996), we have to go with the first film’s climactic chase scene, as Hunt comes within a hair’s width of getting his head chopped off by helicopter blades in a high-speed train tunnel.
Better than Bourne? Yes. With his impressive run of both box office and critical success, all without taking a nine-year hiatus, Ethan Hunt edges out Jason Bourne as the best action hero of this century.
John McClane, Die Hard
Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney play father and son in ‘A Good Day to Die Hard.’
Number of movies: 5
Average domestic box office (adjusted for inflation): $171.5 million
Top-rated: Die Hard (1988) — 92%
Lowest-rated: A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) — 14%
Secret weapon: World-weary sarcasm.
The Die Hard franchise is a relic compared to most of the others on this list, with Bruce Willis first saving the world as John McClane in 1988. And while McClane’s perpetually aggrieved New York City cop was the perfect foil to Justin Long’s whiny hacker in Live Free Or Die Hard (2007), the un-watchability of Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and A Good Day to Die Hard dock him some points.
Coolest action scene: McClane takes a beating from one of the oversized goons employed by Hans Gruber (played by the late Alan Rickman) in Die Hard, but proves his ability to dish out one-liners even while being utterly pummeled is second to none.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wykwob6IL-Y
Better than Bourne? At his highest points, maybe. Over his entire body of work? Definitely not.
Jason Bourne, Bourne (Matt Damon only, because obviously)
Matt Damon in ‘The Bourne Ultimatum.’
Number of movies: 4
Average domestic box office (not counting Jason Bourne because that information isn’t available yet): $237.8 million
Top-rated: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) — 93%
Lowest-rated: Jason Bourne (2016) — 57%
Secret weapon: Anything. He literally can turn anything into a weapon.
Discounting 2012’s Jeremy Renner-led Bourne Legacy, the franchise has been remarkably strong, with audiences flocking to watch Damon’s Jason Bourne attempt to unravel his mysterious pass as a CIA killing machine, all while avoiding the agency that turned him that way. Though the source material of the Bourne movies is a series of 1980s-era spy novels by Robert Ludlum, the film franchise’s air of post-9/11 paranoia makes it feel the most contemporary on this list, especially the newest film’s subplot involving the CIA using a social network born in Silicon Valley to spy on the whole world simultaneously.
Coolest action scene: Bourne is probably at his best on the run, and any of the chase scenes could easily take this honor. But no scene exemplifies his ability to win fights in unconventional ways more than this scene from The Bourne Identity (2002), in which Bourne bests a knife-wielding baddie using nothing more than a pen and his own inventiveness.
Better than Bourne? That’s clearly impossible.
Bryan Mills, Taken
Liam Neeson in ‘Taken 3.’
Number of movies: 3
Average domestic box office: $140.2 million
Top-rated: Taken (2008) — 58%
Lowest-rated: Taken 3 (2014) — 11%
Secret weapon: Terrifying phone monologues.
How many movies have become a cultural touchstone on the strength of a trailer? The list is short, and at the top has to be Taken, buoyed by Liam Neeson’s restrained menace as he tells his daughter’s abductor matter-of-factly that he will find him and kill him. As ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills, Neeson’s take-no-prisoners approach lifts a film franchise that would have floundered with a less talented leading man.
Coolest action scene: The final fight scene in Taken proves that Mills is human, as he’s hit with punches, bullets and stab wounds fighting his way across the room. But no matter how much punishment he takes, there’s no question that as he said on the phone, once he finds them, he’s going to use his very set of special skills to get the job done.
Better than Bourne? Though the prospect of receiving a phone call from Bryan Mills is terrifying, definitely not.
Every single one of The Expendables, The Expendables
Sylvester Stallone poses with the large cast of ‘The Expendables 3.’
Number of movies: 3
Average domestic box office: $83 million
Top-rated: The Expendables 2 (2012) — 66%
Lowest-rated: The Expendables 3 (2014) — 32%
Secret weapon: The number of characters and arsenal of explosives in the films technically qualifies The Expendables as the ninth largest military in the world.
It’s a premise seemingly dreamed up by an 11-year-old from 1986: What if we took all of the coolest action stars, pitted them against a bunch of random bad guys, added as many guns, fist fights, and explosions as possible, and let the camera roll for two hours? There’s no question that the gang of mercenaries — led by Stallone’s Barney Ross and joined at various points by characters played by Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Jet Li, and just about every other action star of the last 30 years — is a bundle of fun. But if you take away the action scenes, there’s nothing left. That’s completely intentional, mind you, but to qualify as quintessential action heroes, you need a higher purpose, something the members of this gang lack.
Coolest action scene: The entire Expendables trilogy is essentially one long, unbroken fight scene, so isolating a single fight seems foolhardy. In the interest of choosing a moment that doesn’t feature excessively over-the-top R-rated violence (you can watch a compilation of those here, if you want), this scene with Statham on the basketball court from The Expendables (2010) is pretty amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsTxhlHA844
Better than Bourne? Even an army of Stallones (Rocky, Rambo, Demolition Man, and Ross) couldn’t take Bourne down, much less an army of action heroes past their prime.
Bond, James Bond (Daniel Craig movies only, because comparing Bond movies from the 1960s to present-day franchises is silly)
Daniel Craig as James Bond in ‘Spectre.’
Number of movies: 4
Average domestic box office: $237.5 million
Top-rated: Casino Royale (2006) — 95%
Lowest-rated: Spectre (2015) — 65%
Secret weapon: Bespoke suits.
Daniel Craig took the Bond franchise in a darker, grittier direction than the Pierce Brosnan era, and it paid off, with the average box office totals for Craig’s four Bond films almost identical to Damon’s Bourne movies. Additionally, Craig’s Bond feels a bit more vulnerable, prone to outbursts, and driven by personal animus — in short, a Bond with flaws, one that’s more relatable to modern audiences.
Coolest action scene: Craig set the tone for his Bond early, with a parkour (remember when that was a thing?) chase scene through a Madagascar city in Casino Royale. Crucially, he doesn’t land every jump cleanly, he doesn’t snag the villain unscathed, and he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt Sean Connery’s Bond wouldn’t be caught dead in.
Better than Bourne? Bond has the advantage of 50 years of film history, infinitely cooler gadgets, and a dashing British accent. But at the end of the day, Bourne would probably fight Bond to a draw, so we’re giving the win to the one played by a hometown hero.
Frank Martin, The Transporter (only the first three movies, because the fourth one doesn’t have Frank)
Frank (Jason Statham) takes on a bunch of thugs in an abandoned bus in ‘The Transporter.’
Number of movies: 3
Average domestic box office: $44.7 million
Top-rated: The Transporter (2002) — 54%
Lowest-rated: Transporter 3 (2008) — 37%
Secret weapon: Rules (and adhering to them).
Jason Statham’s Frank Martin is a high-class courier for criminals, discreetly delivering packages while avoiding confrontation when possible. But when Martin finds himself facing off against a double-crossing mercenary, a horde of goons protecting a human trafficker, or even simply someone who breaks one of his personal rules, Martin throws down with the best of them.
Coolest action scene: The shirtless oil fight scene in The Transporter is laugh-out-loud amazing, but nothing beats this door-kicking fight scene from the middle of the same film, set to period-appropriate European techno music.
Better than Bourne? Martin is one of the best hand-to-hand fighters on this list, and Statham is the man who seems most likely to destroy any challenger in a bar fight in real life. But the receipts and the reviews don’t lie.
Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner, The Fast and the Furious (Tokyo Drift not included because Lucas Black is no Vin Diesel or Paul Walker)
Tyrese, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, and Ludacris in ‘Furious 7.’
Number of movies: 6
Average domestic box office: $236.4 million
Top-rated: Furious 7 (2015) — 79%
Lowest-rated: Fast & Furious (2009) — 28%
Secret weapon: Family and/or Corona beer.
The F&F franchise is one of the few on this list that has changed dramatically over time, with a definite shift from the intense focus on cars in the first four to the blue-collar Ocean’s 11 vibe of the most recent three. And like The Expendables, though there are distinct lead characters (Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, an outlaw street racer, and the late Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, a former cop), part of the franchise’s charm is its devotion to the full ensemble.
Coolest action scene: Fast Five (2011) features two indestructible brick walls named Vin Diesel and The Rock. When they come face-to-face, it’s everything you’ve always wanted and more. It’s a shame they end up on the same side by the end of the movie, because we could watch those two trade blows all day long.
Better than Bourne? The Fast and Furious franchise is ascendant, with the addition of The Rock in Fast Five (2011) helping to lift the films to new heights. Meanwhile, Jason Bourne was the weakest Bourne film starring Damon to date. We’ll tentatively call this one a draw until Fast 8 comes out next year.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com