Format: DVD from personal collection on kick-ass portable DVD player.
Are spy films a genre? I’m not sure if they are despite the fact that I can think of three prominent spy-themed film franchises—James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and the Bourne films. If you lay them end to end, there’s something to be said for each of them. Bond certainly has the longest legs, having gone through a half dozen or so actors in the main role and nearly two dozen films. The M:I films are good (I guess—I stopped after the first one), and the most recent got a lot of praise. Still, for consistent quality, I’d go with Bourne every time. Leaving off the one that is opening later this year, the three current films in the series are all top-notch.
Strangely, only The Bourne Ultimatum makes The List. However, in preparation for watching it today, I watched the first two over the last couple of days. As it turns out, I’d seen the first two before but not the third; I rewatched the first two specifically to get me prepared for the third one. I’m not sure how well the third film plays on its own—the same thing could be said of, say Return of the Jedi which requires some prior knowledge. Anyway, primed with the first two in the series, I went into the third one hoping it lived up to its older siblings.
