The Stupid, Stupid, ending action scene of The Bourne Identity.
The Bourne Trilogy is one of the all-time best. It was the first movie series I bought because there were times when I’d have a hankering to watch them all through, one more time again. I had to scratch the itch! To me, all three are examples of perfect movies. Not a single misstep amongst them.
Except!
The Stupid, Stupid, ending action scene of The Bourne Identity.
So ol’ Jason Bourne, super-spy, is fighting his way out of Treadstone’s safe-house. It’s several stories up. Assassins are coming to murder him, running up the long spiral staircase.
What does Bourne do?
Kick one of the bigger dudes through the stair balusters, push him over the edge, then drop down what must be sixty feet to the ground (at least!).
Not only does he blast the bad guys on his way down, but he uses the dead body as cushioning from his fall sixty feet up in the air!
We’ve been asked to suspend disbelief the entire film, and the filmmakers of The Bourne Trilogy have done wonders with our trust. The physics are realistic, and even though we’re watching impossible events, they aren’t so impossible as to breach the confines of reality.
Until that last action scene in The Bourne Identity. Yikes!
I still love this movie, but whenever I watch all three, this is literally the only part where I roll my eyes and groan.