Besides his recent controversial comments and his unwavering bromance with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon is a well-known Hollywood name who is famous for his bankable on-screen presence. A recipient of several awards and accolades, including two Golden Globes and an Academy Award and several other nominations, Damon debuted in 1988 with the Donald Petrie film Mystic Pizza.
Damon’s breakthrough role happened in the Ben Affleck film Good Will Hunting which he followed up with several incredible releases, namely Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr Ripley, the Ocean’s trilogy and the Bourne franchise, among others.
Damon starred in the Bourne franchise which began in 2002 and continued till 2016. Created by author Robert Ludlum, the franchise sees Damon as the titular rogue CIA assassin Jason Bourne who suffers from dissociative amnesia.
A brilliant and brutal combination of an amnesiac protagonist engaging in excellent combat and mindboggling narrative arcs, the franchise constitutes one of the greatest espionage thrillers of all time as people delightfully witness the gradual evolution of Bourne’s character.
Damon even mastered stunt work, combat, eskrima and boxing before shooting to add realism to his persona.
Directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Tony Gilroy, the 2007 film, The Bourne Ultimatum was widely praised by critics and audience alike as it saw America’s James Bond, Jason Bourne try and recollect information about his past. It starred Damon, Julia Stiles, Daniel Bruhl, David Straithairn and Albert Finney among others.
However, the actor was disappointed by the script and really despised the film. He found Gilroy’s script “terrible” and did not hold back in his scathing remarks as he said that the film would be “game over for that dude [Gilroy].”
“I don’t blame [screenwriter] Tony [Gilroy] for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in,” Damon told GQ in its 2011 issue. He continued “It’s just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender.”
Given how chaotic the production was, he even told a press event that the film was “not an advisable way to make a movie”.
Watch The Bourne Ultimatum on Netflix now.
