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2002
There's something quintessentially American about Hollywood's take on Robert Ludlum's amnesiac Jason Bourne. Maybe it's that as Bourne, Matt Damon kickpunches through globe-trotting adventures so improvisationally — he's a grim practitioner of espionage jazz.
But if you were to ask, "Now that there's a Damon-less Bourne movie coming out, what actually happened in those first three?" We'd say, "Um ... hey, look over there!" So, in preparation for The Bourne Legacy, we decided to figure it out.
Above:
The Bourne Identity, 2002
How it starts: A bullet-riddled Bourne floats in the Mediterranean. What Bourne remembers: Nothing. Well, OK: A few languages, advanced driving (and killing) skills. The bad guy: Conklin (played by Chris Cooper), head of an assassin squad called Treadstone The ally: Franka Potente's Marie Kreutz, who gives Bourne a lift The locations: Langley, Marseille, Paris, Zurich How it ends: CIA boss Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) has Conklin killed and Treadstone dismantled.Illustrations: Adrian Behzadi. P hotos: Universal/Kobal Collection; Universal
