You can inject new life into virtually any film or franchise by watching it again, only this time rooting for the bad guys. Really think through the scenario from their angle, and try to break down how they go about taking on the hero. More often than not, you'll find yourself scratching your head, or outright screaming at the screen.
For instance, take Matt Damon's Bourne trilogy. There's no doubt Jason Bourne is a badass, but the sloppy and frankly baffling strategy the evil government agents employ makes us think that any of us would have had a better than even chance of getting away.
Let's take it step by step:
5
Why Not Just Let Jason Bourne Go?
![5 Reasons Anyone Could Defeat the CIA in the Bourne Trilogy]()
So, these films are about a brainwashed assassin (Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon) who breaks free from his programming. The secret CIA team who created him of course then has to kill him...
![5 Reasons Anyone Could Defeat the CIA in the Bourne Trilogy]()
"Who sent you?"
"Your boss! He really misses you! Like, a lot!"
Wait, do they?
Once free, what Bourne wants most of all, is to be left alone. He tells them this again and again. Yet time and time again the CIA and the secret assassin program insist on dragging this one-man death machine back into their lives. Why? What good ever comes from it?
You could say that the issue was secrecy, but Bourne could have exposed everything at any given moment just by going to the press, and he didn't. We know why, too -- Bourne has dirty laundry of his own (remember he was an assassin, and had killed multiple dudes in shady assassination operations). Can you imagine the relief when they found out that he just wants to go away somewhere and bang his hot German girlfriend without a care in the world? Let him!
![5 Reasons Anyone Could Defeat the CIA in the Bourne Trilogy]()
Just let the man retire with Lola. What's the big hoo-hah?
But, no. They just can't let the guy go.
Let's look at the most inexplicable example. In the third film, it comes out that the main bad guy (Deputy Director of the CIA, Ward Abbott) is under investigation. It turns out that he had stolen money from the CIA in the past. He finds out that a trade is being made by the CIA for evidence that would incriminate him.
So, he hires some assassin to ambush the trade, kill everyone involved, and then plant Jason Bourne's fingerprints in order to frame him for it. He then sends the assassin after Bourne to kill him (SPOILER: This fails).
![5 Reasons Anyone Could Defeat the CIA in the Bourne Trilogy]()
But also don't put all your chips on a near-sighted sniper
319 Comments