Based on Robert Ludlum’s spy novels, The Bourne Identity follows amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) as he attempts to piece together his past. The initial trilogy unraveled the secrets behind the character’s ultra-classified training, and eventually saw him discover his true identity.
After a six-year hiatus, the series returned in 2012 with the addition of Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy, which attempted to widen the mythos without Damon or director Paul Greengrass. Luckily, Greengrass and Damon later returned for Jason Bourne, a late-era sequel that mostly rehashed the franchise’s greatest hits.
The five Bourne movies have grossed nearly $1.7 billion globally. But it’s been nearly a decade since the last entry, which feels entirely too long to go without seeing our favorite secret agent jump from rooftop to rooftop or engage in catastrophic car chases in busy tourist cities.Â
With recent reports suggesting Conclave director Edward Berger will direct a new Bourne film, many fans are wondering if Damon will reprise his beloved role. To bide our time until then, Entertainment Weekly has compiled a handy guide on how to watch all five Bourne movies in order.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
All in a day’s work for an amnesiac super-assassin.
Universal
After a fisherman pulls him from the Mediterranean Sea, amnesiac Jason Bourne (Damon) travels across the globe trying to piece together his past. With the help of resourceful Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), Bourne evades capture from the CIA — namely data analyst Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) — while untangling his involvement in the deadly Operation Treadstone.
Doug Liman’s espionage flick reinvigorated the modern action movie — and ostensibly introduced a new archetype of superspy: slick but unglamorous, virtuosically violent but psychologically wounded, almost a blue-collar antidote to Bond.
Damon looks almost preposterously young here, but he’s effortlessly convincing in the role. The original film not only established the star’s action chops, but also set into motion an entire conspiratorial mythology from which the franchise continues to feed.
Where to watch The Bourne Identity: Amazon Prime
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
This time it’s personal.
Jasin Boland/Universal
Supremacy tweaks the original’s pared-down approach into a labyrinthine narrative. Greengrass’ gritty, handheld shooting style here sets the template for not only the franchise’s future, but also a legion of (largely unsuccessful) imitators.
Months after the events of Identity, Bourne has settled down into a calm, anonymous existence. But the shadowy entities that created him aren’t satisfied to leave him in peace. In an early set piece, Marie — the person grounding our bioengineered assassin hero to a normal life — is killed in an attempt on Bourne’s life.
That drags him back into action. As a cherry on top, he’s also framed by Russian agent Kirill (Karl Urban) for a political assassination and theft. Meanwhile, newly anointed CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) probes Bourne’s ties to Treadstone, setting the two on a collision course.
Where to watch The Bourne Supremacy: Amazon Prime
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Jason Bourne and his fun lil motorcycle.
Jasin Boland/Universal
This third entry picks up moments after the end of Supremacy. Bourne attempts to help Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), an English journalist who claims to have information about Blackbriar, Treadstone’s successor program, but succeeds only in getting CIA assassins on their tails. With the help of Landy and Nicky Parsons, Bourne goes up against Vosen (David Strathairn), the corrupt director of Operation Blackbriar.
The film dives deeper into the background of the top-secret programs and those responsible for not only creating Jason Bourne, but others like him. Finishing off the initial trilogy with a bang, The Bourne Ultimatum offers a definitive conclusion to the storyline the original movie launched. Even a closing sting, which leaves the sequel door open, doesn’t diminish the finality of this chapter.
Ultimately this may not have been a true finale, but it remains, by consensus, the best installment. It took nearly a decade before Damon was dragged out of Bourne retirement.
Where to watch The Bourne Ultimatum: Amazon Prime
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Treadstone: The Next Generation.
Mary Cybulski/Universal
Running concurrently with the events of Ultimatum, Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy finds Landy and Vosen testifying in front of Congress about Blackbriar. Meanwhile, Aaron Cross (Renner) has escaped the successor program, Operation Outcome. In an effort to plug any possible leaks (but clearly not having learned any lessons), the CIA orders everyone associated with Outcome killed. Cross goes on the run with Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) in a race to outwit the assassins and reveal the truth.
Like its Damon-led predecessors, Legacy amounts to a cat-and-mouse chase thriller, with hunter and hunted swapping roles over the course of the film. We meet another (ill-fated) Outcome agent, played by Oscar Isaac, while also uncovering more elements of the broader conspiracy, namely a pharmaceutical lab instrumental in the development of the government’s black ops programs.
Legacy picks at the plot scraps established in prior films, but largely operates as a peculiar standalone effort.
Where to watch The Bourne Legacy: Amazon Prime
Jason Bourne (2016)
This time it’s personal… again! Yeah, again.
Jasin Boland/Universal
More than a decade after bringing Blackbriar to light, Bourne is in hiding as a street fighter in Greece. After finding documents related to his father and his initiation as an agent, Nicky travels to find Bourne but accidentally alerts Cyber Ops specialist Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) and agency chief Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) to the former agent’s location.
Jason Bourne builds upon the mythos established in the initial trilogy, mostly ignoring Legacy without erasing it from the franchise’s continuity. This fifth entry, while largely revolving around the past and the origins of Treadstone — including surprising ties to Bourne’s dad (Gregg Henry) — also propels the story into contemporary technological territory. Hacking networks, cyber threats, and modern digital surveillance play prominent roles here. All the while, the movie seems to be attempting a soft reboot of the franchise.