Because The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum seem much larger in scope, I think some people forget that Doug Liman's only turn in the director's chair for the franchise, The Bourne Identity, is one of the best modern spy movies to hit the big screen. It's a truly influential action film and it made Matt Damon a capable and bonafide action star. Over the last 20 years, there have been several films similar to The Bourne Identity that owe a debt to that film's style and Liman's directorial expertise. While speaking with "Slashfilm", Liman addressed one action franchise in particular copying The Bourne Identity's style and it's none other than that other spy from across the pond, 007.
During the interview, Liman admitted to feeling a bit confused when he saw the similarities between The Bourne Identity and Casino Royale, which was released four years later. Here is what Liman had to say about still not being able to process the idea that today's James Bond era copied his style:
"I always wanted to make a James Bond movie, but they don't hire American directors. By the way, you've made two little indie movies. You're never going to direct James Bond. I went and made Bourne Identity, and then after The Bourne Identity came out, the next James Bond to come out was Casino Royale, which totally copied the tone of Bourne. I had a very surreal thing where I was sort of making Bourne because I really wanted to make Bond, and then Bond copied Bourne. I didn't quite know how to process that. I still don't know how to process that. I don't know if I got what I wanted or didn't get what I wanted. It's beyond my computing power to know how to feel about that. It's probably an unsatisfying answer. To say I'm annoyed or flattered would be easy, but I'm still confused about how should I feel this."
When The Bourne Identity was released in 2002, the popularity of that film did a lot to bring into focus the campy and over-the-top James Bond movies that were currently being led by Pierce Brosnan. Die Another Day was released months after Bourne and while the film certainly made money, I would say that the decision was eventually made to add a bit more realism and sophistication to the franchise once Daniel Craig took over the role in Casino Royle. The Bourne Identity overt campiness and it took its premise seriously without coming off pretentious. It certainly raised the stakes for the genre and Liman does have an argument that maybe they were influenced by The Bourne Identity when approaching the next era of Bond.
Even though Liman set the tone for the Bourne franchise, he never returned to direct any of the sequels. He has been pretty vocal about how troubled some of the production was, particularly between himself and Universal Pictures which explains why Paul Greengrass took over moving forward. In fact, Liman goes on to explain one of many issues with Universal when they asked him to have an ending where Bourne fights 200 enemies:
"It's still one of my favorite mementos from my career. Universal told me the ending would be unsatisfying, and they wanted Jason Bourne to fight 200 people. I told the two executives to go eff themselves. Unfortunately, one of those executives now runs Netflix. I'm still proud of having sent that memo."
Despite whatever issues arose during production, Liman certainly left his mark on that franchise he's just as responsible for its success as anyone else who has been involved with the series since. I can definitely see the similarities between The Bourne Identity and Casino Royale and while I don't know if MGM set out to intentionally copy what Liman did with his film, it appears they were at least inspired by it.
Do YOU agree that Casino Royale copied Liman's style used in The Bourne Identity?