November 18th, 2007Bourne Supremacy: Book vs. Movie
It’s not too often that I see a book and think “I must read it”, but this happened to me late last week.
At my work there is a shelf of English novels that instructors and students can borrow from. As expected, there are a large number of books that I’m not particularily interested in, but a few did catch my eye. Ender’s War, Eon, The Years of Rice and Salt … these are all classics in my opinion. Each one has coloured the way I’ve seen the world around me. Orson Scott Card, Kim Stanley Robinson and a large number of great authors have played such a critical role during my turbulent teenage years, and I learned quite a bit from each of them. Last week, though, there were a few additions to the shelf. One in particular caught my attention: Robert Ludlum’s Bourne Supremacy.
Score.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Bourne movies ever since watching Bourne Identity in the theatres all those years ago. Unfortunately, I’ve never been successful in finding the novels. Chapters never had stock, and I didn’t want to order it online and wait. Oddly enough, my favourite eBook provider (eReader) has never managed to get a copy of the book, either. Suffice to say, when I found Bourne Supremacy on the shelf with a zero-yen sticker price, I jumped at the chance to read the original concept for Jason Bourne and his war against everyone. We can only see and hear so much in a movie, and books have typically been far superior to anything I’ve seen on screen, so the 638 page book should have been an incredible journey with a man driven both by rage and a cold, calculating brain … right?
I’ll warn you now that I’m about to throw out a few differences between the movie and the book. If you don’t want me to spoil the plots for you, it might be a good idea to read some of my other posts on books or technology.
So what’s different between the book and the movie? You’ll love this: everything but the names.
The movie takes place initially in India, then goes into Europe and Russia with a few scenes in the United States. The book starts in the US, where Jason Bourne (who knows he’s David Webb and is trying to rebuild his life) lives with his wife Marie. Marie was not a gypsy, but instead an economist from Canada who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jason saves her life, and she helps him become David Webb again. In order for Jason Bourne to return and go on a killing spree, representatives from the US government kidnap his wife and fly her to Hong Kong, where he must follow and capture a copycat in order to have his wife safely returned to him. 90% of the story happens in Hong Kong and China, and it’s set in 1987.
All in all, I did enjoy the book. With everything taking place in that era, I had the opportunity to appreciate just how difficult things would have been for spies and assassins. No cell phones. Few electronics. The things that we see Jason Bourne and the other hired guns use in the movies were all distant science fiction concepts when this story was written.
Were there car chases? Not really.
Were there amazing fights and complicated story lines? Yeah, there were some good action sequences. As usual with novels, you need to use your imagination quite a bit. But when it’s all said and done, the whole story was very well told.
Personally, I would have enjoyed watching a movie like this in the theatres. Sure, it didn’t have very many technologies, and the key audience is probably too young to remember the political situation that was brewing in Hong Kong a decade before its return to China, but it would have been just as exciting as the remake.
If you do have the chance to read the book, I’d definately suggest it. Earlier today I found the first book (Bourne Identity) at work and might just borrow that during the Christmas break. I love to read, but that did take quite a bit of time out of blogging and properly preparing things at work 
Have you read any of the Bourne books? Which story line do you like better? The ex-Vietnam War mercenary, or the “damaged” US covert ops agent?
Bourne Supremacy: Book vs. Movie…
I’ve been a huge fan of the Bourne movies ever since watching Bourne Identity in the theatres all those years ago. Unfortunately, I’ve never been successful in finding the novels. Chapters never had stock, and I didn’t want to order it online a…
I really liked the movies, the book should be great. I agree, usually the book is far better than the movie. I try to enjoy both.
I like the movies better but both are amazing.
When I first read the BOURNE IDENTITY it was a book I could not put down til finished. The movies with Damon are a great departure from the originial book. However, probably necessary to update the book.
Still Ludlums best book by far was and is the Bourne Identity. I read the Supremacy and Ulitmatum as well. Mostly because the character, Jason Bourne or David Webb was so strong and compelling. However, Identity was the best by far.
I actually think the movies might have gotten better each time, where as the books were the opposite. I read this in the 80s or early 90s and it was all very believable then.