Bourne: Books vs. Movies
The three Bourne movies, released between 2002 and 2007, are adapted from Robert Ludlum's four books, published between 1980 and 1990. Each book has its own page here; this one is the series as a whole.
From Books Adapted
How much of the book it covers
Only the first movie really follows its book
Robert Ludlum wrote three Bourne books, and the first three movies borrow their titles. Only The Bourne Identity follows its book's story, and even it changes who Bourne really was.
| Movie | What it takes from the books |
|---|---|
| The Bourne Identity (2002) | Loosely follows the first book: the lost memory and the hunt for who he is stay, much of the plot changes |
| The Bourne Supremacy (2004) | The second book's title and some of its characters, in a different story |
| The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) | The third book's title and characters, carrying on the movies' own story |
| The Bourne Legacy (2012) | A new story about Aaron Cross, not Eric Van Lustbader's book of the same name |
| Jason Bourne (2016) | A new story by Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse |
The stories of Ludlum's second and third books have never been filmed. The books also carried on without the movies: Eric Van Lustbader kept writing Bourne novels after Ludlum died.
What changed from the book
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Who Bourne really was
In the book, Bourne's life as a killer is a cover story, made up to draw out the assassin Carlos the Jackal. In the movie, he really was a CIA assassin, and getting his memory back means finding out what he did.
Screenwriter Tony Gilroy built the movie around that change: a man who feels innocent slowly realizes his skills belong to someone he doesn't want to be.
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The second story starts somewhere else entirely
The second movie kills Marie early on, while she and Bourne are hiding out in India. The second book opens with the two of them married and living in Maine, and sends Bourne to Hong Kong instead of across Europe.
Every movie has its own page
Vote on them one at a time: each has its own question, results and comments.
- Book 1
The Bourne IdentityMovie, 2002 · Directed by Doug Liman · 1 hr 59 minFrom The Bourne Identity · 1980 · 576 pagesDoug Liman’s 2002 film The Bourne Identity is adapted from Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel. Both begin with an amnesiac man following the name Jason Bourne into a hidden life of espionage.Which was better? Vote - Book 2
The Bourne SupremacyMovie, 2004 · Directed by Paul Greengrass · 1 hr 48 minFrom The Bourne Supremacy · 1986 · 679 pagesPaul Greengrass’s 2004 film The Bourne Supremacy takes its title and characters from Robert Ludlum’s 1986 novel. Both pull Jason Bourne back into espionage after an attack on the quiet life he built with Marie.Which was better? Vote - Book 3
The Bourne UltimatumMovie, 2007 · Directed by Paul Greengrass · 1 hr 55 minFrom The Bourne Ultimatum · 1990 · 720 pagesPaul Greengrass’s 2007 film The Bourne Ultimatum takes its title and central character from Robert Ludlum’s 1990 novel. Each follows Bourne toward a final reckoning with the covert life he tried to escape.Which was better? Vote - Book 4
The Bourne LegacyMovie, 2012 · Directed by Tony Gilroy · 2 hr 15 minFrom The Bourne Legacy · 2005 · 535 pagesThe Bourne Legacy is Tony Gilroy's 2012 movie, adapted from Robert Ludlum, Brian Freeman and Eric Van Lustbader's 2005 book The Bourne Legacy. It stars Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Dennis Boutsikaris.Which was better? Vote
The books, in order
Details
- Author
- Robert Ludlum
- Year
- 1980
- Pages
- 576
- Audiobook length
- 2 hr 7 min
- Narrator
- Darren McGavin
- Series
- Bourne, book 1
Pulled from the Mediterranean with gunshot wounds and no memory of his identity, a man follows a surgically implanted bank-account number to Zurich. The contents of the account point to the name Jason Bourne and a life built on aliases, violence, and espionage, while assassins and intelligence agencies close in before he can discover who he really is.
Details
- Author
- Robert Ludlum
- Year
- 1986
- Pages
- 679
- Audiobook length
- 27 hr 37 min
- Narrator
- Scott Brick
- Series
- Bourne, book 2
David Webb has tried to leave Jason Bourne behind, but an assassin using the Bourne name is destabilizing Hong Kong and threatening an international crisis. When Marie is taken to force his cooperation, Webb resurrects his deadly alter ego and enters a contest of deception in which governments and killers are manipulating him from every side.
Details
- Author
- Robert Ludlum
- Year
- 1990
- Pages
- 720
- Audiobook length
- 29 hr 23 min
- Narrator
- Scott Brick
- Series
- Bourne, book 3
Years after abandoning his assassin identity, David Webb learns that Carlos the Jackal has returned to finish their rivalry. Webb reunites with former allies and revives Jason Bourne as bait, beginning a final pursuit across the United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union while Carlos strikes at the people Webb loves.
Details
- Author
- Robert Ludlum, Brian Freeman, Eric Van Lustbader
- Year
- 2005
- Pages
- 535
- Audiobook length
- 18 hr
- Narrator
- Scott Brick
- Series
- Bourne, book 4
Retired CIA operative David Webb is teaching at Georgetown when an assassin targets him and he is framed for the murders of two close associates. Forced to become Jason Bourne again, he goes on the run from the CIA while tracking the person behind the attack, only to discover that his enemy’s personal vendetta is part of a larger international terrorist plot.
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