"Bourne" observations *SPOILERS!*

I'm still reeling from last night's perfectly cinematic, ultimately satisfying, three-part conclusion of the Jason Bourne series. Definitely the best of the three. I really wish I had had time to re-watch the previous two before taking in the finale, but I knew it would all come back to me once it began - kind of like a new Harry Potter book after 2 years of waiting for the next installment.

As the credit rolled, several pieces of the story began to connect in my mind, and I found myself dually impressed by the surprisingly intelligent and meaningful moral of the story. For those of you who have followed the Bourne series, and have already read the books - you should have more detailed commentary on my amateur observations. So please feel free to add in the comments section. As you are about to find, I am strangely affected obsessed with this story.

In the ten minutes of the first movie, Jason Bourne emerges from mysterious waters and finds that he has no idea who he is. He also has no idea where he is, and yet, is forced to save himself from some unknown enemy, for some unknown reason, while he simultaneously connects the dots of his own identity.

In the beginning, this seemed to simply be a thrilling plot that would keep its viewers on the edge until the last moments. And it was. But why do we care so much about this guy - who we didn't even know - who didn't even know himself? Why do we relate so deeply with him on such a subconscious level? He could have been his own enemy for all we knew - the antagonist of the story for all he knew. And in a way, he ended up being just that. And yet, we pulled for him - all the way through.

Throughout the series, Bourne visits a myriad of countries, and makes a plethora of mysterious phone calls from unidentified cells to his enemies. Outsmarting the agencies that made him the dangerous Frankenstein he had apparently become and using the heightened reflexes and illegal ninja moves against the very organization that had trained him, he journeyed through the mystery of his identity, and killed a lot of people along the way.

In the end, we learn that Jason was his own worst enemy. He learned he had volunteered to become a slave to the secret agencies of the federal government. He had literally sold his identity and adopted a new one. One that he wasn't so sure he wanted anymore. And as he made his final leap towards freedom, he returned to the waters from whence he came, born a new man and into a new life.

So here's my breakdown: we love Jason Bourne because we ARE Jason Bourne. We come into the world not knowing who we are, and constantly searching for our unique identity. Along the way we learn what is important to us, and sometimes what was once important to us, shows itself to be a lie, and we must figure out how to make it right. Ultimately, however, we tend to be our own worst enemy. The choices we make lead us down paths in which we are too easily lost. We volunteer ourselves to a cause that subconsciously we hope will save us from ourselves. And sometimes we find we made the wrong choices. But there is always hope. If we search for the truth, we can use it to escape from our wrong turns.

Coolest unexpected observation: I love the symbolism of water and rebirth here.

Second place: the almost-cheesy play on words of his name.

Oh, and yah - The Bourne Ultimatum had one of the best fight scenes EVER. I'll spare you the play-by-play here. You'll know it when you see it.

Ok, gonna go read the books now. 'Scuse me.