The 81 Master Tricks and Tools of Jason Bourne

Jason Bourne. The trained assassin who has an arsenal of strength, tricks and gadgets to complete his missions. This article aims to dissect the original Jason Bourne film trilogy, and the later two films, so that you can soak up as much information on Jason Bourne as possible.

Highlights

  • In the Identity, the watch Bourne wears throughout the trilogy is a TAG Heuer’s LINK Chronograph.
  • In the Supremacy, Bourne uses a Rotring 600 pen.
  • When trying to temporary restrain another agent, Bourne hands him a zip tie to use as handcuffs and put them on his wrists in the front and cinch them using his teeth.
  • In the Ultimatum, Bourne uses a monocular, which is basically half of a binocular, and is more compact and subtle.
  • In the Legacy, after emerging from frigid water, Cross uses an emergency survival blanket.
  • In Jason Bourne, Bourne uses a lockpick set to enter an electrical control room.
  • In Jason Bourne, he uses a GPS tracker. We recommend Tile, which is light and barely noticeable.

The Bourne Identity

The Tools

The Tricks

  • When Bourne is on the ship, recovering from his loss of memory, he continues to work out, doing pull-ups, etc. The lesson here is to always stay in shape.
  • After Bourne assaults two police officers, he ditches his coat to remove potential identifiers.
  • Bourne uses lockers provided by train and bus terminals to stash bags filled with money, weapons and identities he can use. This idea of creating caches was also detailed in Emergency by Neil Strauss.
  • Bourne fights using a type of martial arts that is a combination of Filpino Kali and Jeet Kune Do.
  • Bourne has a tiny laser projector in his hip that contains his bank account number.
  • When going removing items from his safe deposit box, he takes everything except the gun. While some may discount this as a stupid move, I consider it a smart one. Sometimes, carrying a gun with you can draw more attention and/or bring trouble.
  • Updated: When spotted by foreign police, he quickly enters the U.S. embassy, a place where the foreign police have no jurisdiction. If you are in a foreign country and are being chased by police, entering the embassy of your country might fend them off for a couple minutes. (Thanks Mosh!)
  • When attempting to escape from the embassy, he grabs an emergency map from the wall, then knocks out a soldier and removes his communications device, so that he can hear where the soldiers are.

  • Bourne pays a girl $20,000 to drive him to Paris. While I don’t recommend this (most would get suspicious and alert the authorities), the tip here is that you can almost always use large sums of money to get what you need. Simple, right? (We also see this later in the film, when Bourne bribes a morgue worker to see a body.)
  • The re-dial button on the phone is your best friend. You can use this on landlines without call logs, or if the phone does have a call log, you can use that as well. The point here is to retrace steps and discover agendas. (i.e. redials to the airport, taxi service, hotel, etc.) In the film, Bourne uses the re-dial button to discover another lead on his identity.
  • Bourne is an expert of fighting based on his surroundings. In a high action fight in his apartment, he reaches around for a makeshift weapon, settling on a ballpoint pen, which he uses to stab the assassin with. Use your surroundings!

  • During a high speed car chase, Bourne instructs his companion to look away from the police. This is most likely to avoid the confirmation of who is in the car. Your instincts are usually to constantly look around, but that’s more likely to burn you.
  • When Bourne ditches Marie’s car, he makes sure to wipe down everything. Later, it is proven a smart move when a police officer says something like, “You’ve been here for 3 hours and you still can’t find a fingerprint!?!”. Create dead ends for your followers, and leave no traces of yourself.
  • The check in, or list of visitors is a great source for information. At a morgue, Bourne rips out several sheets to examine later for links to the person who took a body.
  • In one scene, Bourne is placing duct tape over a car window. While he may be mending the broken window, this may also be just to block the view in, or it might be to prevent gun shots from shattering the windows.
  • Updated: In a fight with another assassin, Bourne uses a shotgun to blow up a gas tank, creating a large smoke screen for cover. If you are in need of a distraction, or a screen, blowing something up (at a distance) might be a good idea. (Thanks Nick!)
  • When instructing a friend to lay low he says, “No friends, nothing familiar.” This basically sums up what you should do if you want to ditch your identity.
  • Bourne attaches a tracking device to a vehicle he suspects after luring agents to his specified location.
  • This mention definitely deserves its own “don’t try this at home”. Several flights up, Bourne needs to get down the stairs fast. Grabbing the nearest dead guy, he jumps, positioning the cadaver below, and landing hard. Using a corpse to cushion your fall may not be the closest thing in your situation, but you could use something similar. (You might be asking what would be similar to a dead body, so here are a few suggestions: mattress, inflatable life raft, etc.)

More

A video on how to fight like Jason Bourne.

How to Kick Someone’s Ass With Everyday Objects

Watch The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Supremacy

The Tools

  • After overpowering two officials, Bourne copies the SIM card of the agent who received a call from the CIA, using a gadget he can then use to listen in on the calls. Here is some more information on the process: the how-to and the gadget. When doing this, he uses a product from CHIPDRIVE and a GSM plugin SIM adapter. The prop used for this can be found here.
  • Bourne uses a Rotring 600 pen.
  • Bourne uses a Siemens ME45 phone.
  • Bourne uses a Sig Sauer PRO gun in Moscow.
  • In all of the movies, when Bourne uses a cell phone, he uses a hands-free accessory to talk. A Bluetooth headset is much more discrete but its signal can be intercepted more easily.

The Tricks

  • Bourne, when detained and questioned, says nothing, assuming a sort of poker face. Some may say the law is on his side, and this is a smart move for Bourne. Others may think this is stupid. At any rate, Bourne accomplishes what he set out to do.
  • Bourne then steals a car for transportation. This is highly illegal, so please read our legal section before learning more. This and this could help.
  • When trying to temporary restrain another agent, Bourne hands him a zip tie to use as handcuffs and put them on his wrists in the front and cinch them using his teeth.
  • In fighting another agent, Bourne again relies on his surroundings to use a rolled up magazine as a weapon. The type of fighting he uses is called Escrima, an old Philippine martial art. In ancient times, it used sticks, but now you can use everyday objects, such as a rolled up paper or a pen.
  • In order to kill someone Bourne uses an electrical cord to strangle him. When fighting, be sure to stay away from cords that might be used to strangle you.

  • After realizing that backup has been called in, Bourne places a magazine inside a toaster, starts toasting it, then breaks open a gas line to create a makeshift bomb. In minutes, when agents are about to enter the house, it blows up, leaving Bourne a nice exit.
  • Bourne affixes a fake license plate he got from his bag to a car he stole to prevent police from finding him quickly.
  • When setting up a meeting place, Bourne always picks the best possible location. In a particular scene, he chooses a location which is set to be the location of a protest march. This makes it difficult for surveillance, and using the protest as a cover, he manages to carry out his mission. When he then realizes that his target is wearing a wire, he brings her into a room on the subway system to block the wire from broadcasting more. You can use this knowledge to perform similar feats if necessary.
  • Bourne uses a prepaid phone card at a phone booth for security and privacy to prevent tracing.
  • When looking for a target he thinks is staying in the city, he calls the major hotels in the city, looking to speak to her.
  • Bourne asks the front desk to call a room (that he knows is already on the phone) so that he can see the room number displayed on the phone.
  • Bourne uses vodka to disarm one cop in Russia by throwing it in the man’s face. He also uses the same bottle to disinfect a gun shot wound, something I don’t recommend for even a paper cut. Alcohol works as a disinfect in a pinch, but it can also damage your wounds.

More

Watch The Bourne Supremacy

How to Be Jason Bourne: Multiple Passports, Swiss Banking, and Crossing Borders

The Bourne Ultimatum

The Tools

  1. In the film, Bourne uses a monocular, which is basically half of a binocular, and is more compact and subtle. 
  2. Bourne uses a Dual Tone SIG Pro SP2022 in the beginning of the film, and other than the other guns he removes from agents and officers, he uses another SIG Pro.
  3. Bourne buys a pre-paid phone at Waterloo Station, then activates it and drops it in his target’s pocket. This is done to make sure that other agents can’t listen in on the call.

The Tricks

  • In a car, drowning in water, Bourne gets a good breath of air by swimming to the roof where an air pocket formed.
  • Bourne begins to start his new life, grabbing what he had hidden around the house. He hides his passports behind a photo frame and money behind his desk drawer.
  • When calling a journalist who is under agency surveillance, Bourne calls a co-worker who then lets the journalist use her phone. This is done so that the CIA can’t listen to the call (they only have his work and cell lines tapped.)
  • Bourne instructs the journalist to do several things to prevent agents from getting to him. The first is to let the agents target someone else, in this case, a unknown man in a hoodie. Bourne instructs the journalist, Ross, to approach the man, and turn around, to turn suspicion to the man in the hoodie.
  • Next, Bourne instructs him to move into the station as soon as a bus comes, to block the cameras from following him.
  • Bourne has Ross tie his shoe for several minutes, to shake the team of agents trying to track him down.
  • Bourne coaches Ross on how to stay out of the CCTV’s scanning, by keeping on a path that would not be picked up by the camera.

  • When ever usually-moving security cameras stop moving, it usually means that they are off, and when they are suddenly turned off, it usually means that another power is about to do something they don’t want on camera.
  • In order to turn attention towards a specific door, Bourne takes a flashlight, some tape and a fan, and attaches the shining light to the fan, to create the illusion of someone pacing under a door.
  • Knowing that agents on the other side will be arriving shortly, and needing to buy some time, Bourne calls the cops, telling about Americans who are shooting, then fires several times to get others to call in, then leaves. When the agents arrive a minute later, they get detained by police.
  • In Tangiers, Bourne is traveling over roofs, evading police. In order to out run the police, he grabs some clothing off of a clothing line, and wraps it around his hands in order to get over glass covered walls.
  • In order to obtain the voice of a safe’s owner to open a voice activated safe, he calls him, recording him say his name.
  • This, per se, is not so much a Bourne trick as a method used by an ex-agent, who completely dismantles her cellphone so that the agency can not track her down via cellular triangulation. Even when your phone is off, it can still send signals if hacked. In addition, (as FYI in the comments pointed out), she also uses it to indicate to Bourne where she went, like breadcrumbs.
  • Bourne improvises another everyday as a weapon in a fight scene: a hardcover book, which he uses to brutally smash a guy’s head with. In the same part of the film, he also uses a towel as another improvised weapon.

More

The actor behind Desh shows how they filmed some of the stunts and gives an interview.

James Bond vs Jason Bourne

Watch The Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Legacy

The Tools

The Tricks

  • Cross’ wilderness fire is built with logs upright, presumably to protect the fire from being blown out by wind.
  • To keep wolves at bay, Cross uses a lit torch of fire.
  • He splits up with his partner when he has a bad feeling.
  • To prevent tracking signals from being sent, Cross uses a metal and foil tin to act as a sort of faraday cage.
  • Knowing that his tracking device detects body heat, he puts it in a wolf to replicate the heat signature.
  • A fire extinguisher is as a makeshift gun/propulsion device.
  • A saw is used as a sound distraction device.
  • Cross uses a disposable camera to de-magnetize digital passport chips. Normal people shouldn’t need to do this, but you can use an RFID blocking passport envelope.
  • There’s an old con artist lesson that’s used in the film: act confident, act like you belong and people will believe you belong there too.
  • By forcing an emergency shutdown, Cross helps provide cover for his escape.

  • Aaron Cross, just like Jason Bourne, speaks a ton of languages. Duolingo can help you master many.

Watch The Bourne Legacy

Jason Bourne

The Tools

The Tricks

  • Meeting in the middle of a protest, seeking out the chaos, makes it more difficult to be tracked.
  • A bandaid kit tin is used to contain a USB drive.
  • Catching an attacker off guard, Bourne slams the door open.
  • Bourne uses the train system to avoid being tracked through plane travel.
  • Setting off multiple fire alarms to cause a distraction is straight out of the Bourne playbook.
  • When finding an assassin, Bourne points a spotlight to temporarily blind him.

Watch Jason Bourne

What tricks and tools do remember? What did you like about the Bourne trilogy? Let us know in the comments!

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Sources for this article included Wikipedia, IMDB, this article, and watching the films more times than I care to say.


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Comments

90 responses to “The 81 Master Tricks and Tools of Jason Bourne”

  1. krninaus Avatar
    krninaus

    Your site looks very interesting and informative! I found your blog via Yahoo while searching for discount security cameras and your post, Lone Iguana – The Utterly Ultimate Complete Guide to Jason Bourne [How to Be Bourne] definitely captured my attention. I have seen many other so-called sites and they have been far from good quality.Your site has all the key ingredients to pulling in visitors.

  2. Jordon Hinshaw Avatar

    Nice looking blog you have here. The theme is awesome, great color combination.

  3. sabeel aluva,kerala,india Avatar
    sabeel aluva,kerala,india

    this is very useful to me because i am great bourne fan

  4. Bourne Avatar
    Bourne

    Good work on paying attention to detail, you’re on your way..

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Great to hear from you. Thanks.

  5. […] hey, Jason Bourne was alone too, and look how well he did! Just follow the 55 tricks and tools of Jason Bourne and overthrow the government in no time! Tagged: bourne identity, how to be bourne, jason bourne, […]

  6. nick Avatar
    nick

    I think Bourne shoots a gas tank, not a car, to create a smoke screen. One shot at a car with a shotgun won’t blow it up.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Good call, thanks! Updated the post.

  7. MisterDevious Avatar
    MisterDevious

    Bourne Supremacy: The “disposable cell phone = non-traceable privacy” thing is a total scam. Whenever you make a call with one of them, the phone’s serial number is transmitted during the call. The police can pull this number out of the signal, contact the phone manufacturer’s distributor and find out what store it was shipped to for sale. After that, it’s a simple matter to check the store’s records to find out when that phone was sold, pull the security video for that time frame, and voila! You’re cooked.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Wow, good point. I think that Bourne’s goal, however, was not complete anonymity, but a large time delay before they could actually trace the owner. And, arguably, he didn’t even need that, but only another line the CIA hadn’t put a trace on yet. Thanks for your comment.

  8. Mosh Avatar

    Entering a US Embassy would only be of use if you’re a US citizen and ideally carrying your passport. Find the Embassy for your own nation!

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Great point! Thanks for your comment!

  9. […] How to be Bourne Or in other words, what your skinny punk ass has to do to be a badass like Jason. […]

  10. […] for Wednesday Posted on April 7, 2010 by nutzworld How to be Bourne Or in other words, what your skinny punk ass has to do to be a badass like […]

  11. Jared G Avatar
    Jared G

    Nice job Max. It came out really well.

  12. FYI Avatar
    FYI

    When Nikki takes apart her phone, she is leaving a “bread crumb” trail of sorts pointing to her direction of escape, not only to not be traced.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Brilliant! Updated.

  13. jBourne Avatar
    jBourne

    this is useless to me because i AM jason bourne, b*tch.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Great, any other tips I should know Bourne? : )

  14. wer Avatar
    wer

    You realize that this is fiction, right?
    It’s just a writer sitting in a room somewhere coming up with things that he thinks are neat and would help the story moving?

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Excellent comment, something we should all keep in mind.

  15. Maya Rew, Diana Boas, and How to Become Jason Bourne – The Brand New Cool – Movies, Music, Sports and Entertainment

    […] How to be Jason Bourne <LoneIguana> […]

  16. Eli Avatar

    The monocular scene is very unrealistic: the zoom-factor is enormous, so large that he can read the reports Vosen is putting in his safe. You would need a very stable tripod (and hold your breath!) to get such a perfectly still image at that rate of magnification. Bourne holds the monocular loosely in his hand, yet the picture he sees is still and razorsharp….

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Valuable addition, thanks.

  17. steve morris Avatar
    steve morris

    My son IS Jason Bourne.

  18. Dr Grammar Avatar
    Dr Grammar

    Ahem,

    Bourne “brakes open a gas line”

    I think you mean he “breaks open a gas line”

    You’re welcome.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Thanks for the correction!

  19. […] to complete his missions. So go ahead, soak up as much information on Jason Bourne as possible. 55 Tricks from Jason Bourne Via Lone Iguana […]

  20. April’s link serve #1 – Eternalmoonlight.net

    […] The 55 Master Tricks and Tools of Jason Bourne [How to Be Bourne] […]

  21. Isidro Shary Avatar
    Isidro Shary

    Sweet post.

  22. […] previously worked on this article on Bourne tricks, which garnered 22K views in two days. Might make an interesting idea for an ad for the watch maker […]

  23. wmburden Avatar
    wmburden

    cool article. I believe its “duct” tape though.

    cheers

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Thanks, nice catch.

  24. […] Link Image Credit This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged bourne, tools, tricks. Bookmark the permalink. ← Happy Independence Day America! […]

  25. […] Jason Bourne rocks. So does James Bond. And, some might argue, Jack Baur. Hmmm. Seems like a pattern. […]

  26. Thrillhouse Avatar
    Thrillhouse

    Nice post.

    Also: “per se”, not “per say”. It’s latin.

  27. Lake Avatar
    Lake

    In the Bourne Ultimatum if he has to ram a car he does that with the back of the car for 2 reasons:
    1. So the engine would still work after the crash and
    2. So the airbag wont hit him in the face (also seen in Bourne Notice).
    Thanks for collecting all these tricks and tools.

  28. […] I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1) . Now, let’s continue with exploring […]

  29. rafaello Avatar
    rafaello

    you forget the celular that used who kill dany sorm¡¡¡ it´s a celular that print your finger like the pantech ¡security¡¡¡ ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡i see it in supremacy ………i think is a HP celular but i dont know more¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡do you ???

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Hrm… I think I know what you are talking about: the government agents who take his fingerprints and print them on sticky paper in order to adhere them to objects at the scene of the crime. Not sure about the equipment used.

  30. […] February 20th, 2011 § 0 comments For a while, I’ve been working on a list of gadgets and other gear that I’d like to have with me at all times. Qualifications were that it had to be fairly legal and inexpensive, and fit in a small bag that could easily be hidden in a cache. Under optimal conditions, one would have a few of these stashed in several places easily accessible (like Bourne’s train station locker). […]

  31. […] 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1 and 2) . Now, let’s continue with […]

  32. Miami Vice Guy Avatar
    Miami Vice Guy

    To Mister Devious’s comment about being able to trace prepaid cell phones, there are several methods one can use to remain anonymous and yes, have in fact a cell that can’t be traced to you. If anyone is interested, I will post one or two ways here.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Awesome, I would love to hear them!

  33. Miami Vice Guy Avatar
    Miami Vice Guy

    The easiest (and perfectly legal) method for buying a prepaid cell phone is simple: first, always use cash. Cash leaves no paper trail, and even though an overwhelming number of people don’t carry much of it anymore, preferring to use debit cards, always remember, whatever you buy with anything other than cash leaves an itemized list, time/date stamp right back to you.

    The second step is to wear a ball cap pulled down a bit in front. You may go even further and add to the disguise (facial hair, adding layers of clothing to add weight, wearing a disposable outfit-basically an outfit you put together for five dollars at a Salvation Army or Goodwill months before), but a good cap and sunglasses will work wonders. If you are really paranoid, you can walk to the location, use public transportation, or park your car a few blocks away. In a nutshell, as far as appearance goes, don’t stand out or make conversation with anyone if it can be helped.

    The third step is to scout out locations that DO NOT employ video cameras. Yes folks, there are tons of places that do not. There is a local open air market not far from me that has no cameras except inside the facility. Guess what several vendors have in kiosks? Yup, prepaid cell phones. There is also a flea market that offers the same thing. You might be better off buying a prepaid from a flea market dealer: oftentimes they are the end of the line sellers of such wares. What that means is that the first level seller, whether a cell phone provider or a “real” store like a pharmacy or whatever, has basically shipped the product back to receive credit and a second tier company bought the sent back/overstock, think Big Lots, etc., sent it back, and now this guy has a slew of them he bought, oftentimes for next to nothing. Trust me, it would be very difficult to trace this phone even with a serial number broadcast. And even if it was, all the guy could probably say was that he sells phones like that. These people are open market people that I equate with street vendors in third world countries. Chances are the guy couldn’t even tell the police/Feds what day he sold the phone on and even if by some miracle he could, you paid cash, had a ball cap and sunglasses on, and walked off, fitting in perfectly to the environment. Remember the rule when prepping for a mission: don’t stand out in appearance or actions.

    This is one legal and simple way to purchase a prepaid cell phone. You can add a layer of safety to the above by purchasing your prepaid cell phone in a different city or state.

    There are a few other methods, but I can comfortably share this one with you. Enjoy.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Wow- thanks for the advice!

  34. Miami Vice Guy Avatar
    Miami Vice Guy

    It is no problem; I will add items as time permits.

  35. […] Bourne menggunakan Vodka untuk melumpuhkan petugas di Rusia dengan menyemprotnya menggunakan api ke wajah. dia juga dengan botol yang sama membersihkan luka tembak di lengannya sebagai disinfectant, sesuatu yang tidak saya rokumendasikan walau hanya sebatas luka ringan. sumber : http://www.loneiguana.org/the-utterly-ultimate-complete-guide-to-jason-bourne-how-to-be-bourne/ […]

  36. […] Translate from : http://www.loneiguana.org/the-utterly-ultimate-complete-guide-to-jason-bourne-how-to-be-bourne/ […]

  37. Bourne Avatar
    Bourne

    Jason Bourne does not use a bluetooth handheld device because its wireless waves can be intercepted and can give the exact location of the person. Wired communication from cell phone to ear phone cannot be intercepted remotely

  38. […] 27th, 2011 § 0 comments Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1, 2 and 3) . Now, let’s continue with […]

  39. […] 27th, 2011 § 0 comments Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1, 2, 3 and 4) . Now, let’s end with […]

  40. gareth Avatar

    What you don’t know can’t hurt you..!!!!!!! It hurts you alright, only you feel less of it, as it is unexpected. Remember the more you know the more flexible you are. If you want to be like jason Bourne, go to performing arts school and study acting. The real stuff is scary,….. half your friends and make all your foes your new friends … and your still no where near where a spy would be. Normal people who do extraordinary jobs,….credit to the agents who look after us without ever knowing who, what, when, where or why

  41. karl bonacua Avatar

    i like that. i want to be an ex- cia agent but in phil only

  42. larry Avatar
    larry

    jason steals car in bourne supremacy but didn’t explain how his little device beeped the car or how was able to start. yes stealin is wrong but am curious how this was accomplished

  43. JasonRicardo Avatar
    JasonRicardo

    for number 10 I notice Jason Bourne throws the $20 000 to the girl then ask for a lift to Paris. Of course she gets suspicious and says no. Bourne replies “ok, can I have my money back?”, she thinks about it then the next scene they are on their way to Pairs… I have a feeling he was expecting a no for an answer which is why he made her hold the money, ask the question, and if no..ask for it back… Try giving back $20 000 in your hands with out it hurting..LOL..smooth Bourne..really smooth…

  44. curious Avatar
    curious

    What exactly is the device that Jason uses to start the car after he stole it? And to break into the Brecker hotel room? It sort of looks like a screw driver

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Not too sure- sorry about that!

  45. andropov Avatar
    andropov

    in ultimatum…why did bourne have to tell noah vosen…he was in his office,he should not have done that… jst cal let the mn sy his name and cut the line off…definately!

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Agreed- but it makes for more drama!

  46. Dermot Canniffe Avatar
    Dermot Canniffe

    Bluetooth handsfree devices were prevalent at the time of Supremacy & Ultimatum, but Bourne never uses them. why? all wireless technologies run the risk of being hacked and eavesdropped. a wired headset cannot be intercepted.

    in Identity he manages to not kill The Professor outright with a shotgun. this is *exoeptionally* hard to do with a field effect weapon, and is evidence of his proficiency.

    in Ultimatum he reverses off the Port Authority car park roof, and later slams a pursuing car with the rear of his own. the boot or trunk of a car is a large empty space with a good distance between the bumper and anything vital (the rear axel). sacrificing this dead space leaves him with a fully functional engine. at least for a little while. Bourne applies this strategy of “acceptable loss” to everything, even to himself – he endures physical damage (e.g. the impossible fall off the bridge in Berlin) if it improves his chances of survival sufficiently.

    Bourne crosses frontiers where possible in trains or boats – considerably lower security than flying.

    Finally, by far the greatest spy tool – and one Bourne posseses – is a facility for, and extensive knowledge of many languages.

    Nice page, thanks!

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Thanks for the additions!

  47. Dermot Canniffe Avatar
    Dermot Canniffe

    Oh, and it is Duck Tape – devised during WWII by applying adhesive to strips of cotton duck.

  48. parsons Avatar
    parsons

    To those saying Bourne doesn’t use a Bluetooth headset due to risk of interception that doesn’t make any sense…think about it…the phone itself is wireless so what would it matter if a 30m range headset was being used as well?

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      I’m not too sure about that — I think a Bluetooth headset would be a less secure than a wired headset simply by introducing another way to hack the signal.

  49. Philip Whitehouse (@philipwhiuk) Avatar

    Bourne tells Noah he’s in his office because he wants Vosen on him at the office and not Landy, so that she doesn’t lead Vosen to their meeting point. Also, by wasting the CIA’s time securing the floor and getting them to go back to the office, he & Landy reduce the number of people they can send exchange the file.

  50. Delta 5-1 Avatar
    Delta 5-1

    In Bourne Identity, when Bourne realizes there’s a sniper who has most likely set up an observation post because the family dog is missing, he finds shotgun shells inside the drawer and takes a look around to see children’s toys around the dwelling. Thinks to himself, “Ok, children frequent this room so weapons may be kept up high.”. He finds and grabs the shotgun on top of a high cabinet. Blows up the gas tank outside for a distraction and smoke screen and tries to move up away from the estate. He leaves the estate property in a zig-zag as to not give away his next turn up the hill by keeping his head straight as he moves. Of course this creates a much difficult target for a sniper as they must feel and predict their target’s next move because Jason is turning at random intervals without telegraphing his true direction/heading/azimut. After making “the Professor” miss with several shots while Bourne breaks out in an all-out sprint to keep pushing position. The Professor immediately falls back to a safer location where he has 360 degree visual and is well hidden among high grass. Bourne gets to the same level atop the hill and takes a look around to see that the Professor has hidden himself well. Bourne takes a look around to assess the terrain, possible hiding locations (practically everywhere) and hears birds chirping but does not see any in flight. Bourne then takes a shotgun shot in the air to make settled birds’ (he obviously learned this from being trained in woodland areas that birds like to settle down in their flocks as well when not in flight) noise from wing flapping and screaming to flank the Professor’s position using the sound distraction and to use the bird’s directional flight to determine where the Professor’s true location is as they will immediately fly away from any human contact they visually see. Bourne can also tell by the formation of the flock in flight (scattered and squacking) that THERE IS in fact “a visitor” among the woodland terrain. The Professor, an intelligent assassin as well realizes Bourne’s tactic here and decides to go close quarters and switch to his sidearm 9mm handgun (please correct me if I’m wrong on the size of the handgun) and attempts to close with Bourne at more of a panicked state at this point in hopes of catching Bourne off-guard with his aggressive approach. Bourne after flanking, stands next to a tree as cover, waits and reloads to see the Professor running out of the high grass area. As Dermot Canniffe said in an earlier post here, very difficult to hit a target with a shotgun blast, not kill them and already know in advance it’s best to interrogate the target before they die. They ARE intelligence gatherers as well as assassins.

    Just wanted to add great website on a personal note, I hope it continues to attract more analyses!

  51. Dave Avatar

    A word about the shot gun, the gun collected from the farm house would be for small game, even if used for boar “00” gauge would be the largest shot used, this shot is about the size of 9 x 9mm ball bearings, during a training session I had, these weapons + others were deomo’d for effect, the “00” gauge went through the first layer of a car bonnet but failed to go through the ribs behind and bird shot just skipped off the bonnet, firing at a safe distance from the gas tank would have at most scratched the paint. Hitting the proffessor and not killing straight away is feasable as the spread of shot gets considerably wider over distance and the power drops of significantly as well, you can choke the barrel for a tighter shot but don’t see Jason doing this,
    Delta 5-1 wonders if the prof uses a 9mm, most probably as its the most commonly used pistol round and easy to get hold of in most countries, When looking at a gun most people quote what it is and in what caliber, but by a change of barrel, spring and mag many guns can fire a variety of rounds, my own IMI 941 was in 9mm but could be converted to 10mm/Sw40AE and .45 ACP.
    Using the mobile phone via wire or blue tooth? wouldn’t make much difference as the phone is already transmitting its approximate position, having the number of the incoming phone is far more useful than the limited bluetooth range being picked up as the GPS signal can be traced to within 5m now days.

  52. neil strong Avatar
    neil strong

    love it… cause i’ve done this before, in real life…

  53. neil strong Avatar
    neil strong

    to all the mates, about this topic and to LONE IGUANA,… thank you for the sharings, guys…. this is so dangerous in real events…but i just wanted to tell you… it’s in the blood, whoever he is… ‘ it is his choice’…

  54. Jessica Mcneil Avatar

    Come on, Bourne was a super cool guy, however I do not believe that anyone can do it in a real life. Maybe some well trained person from special military forces can repeat his deeds, but I am sure that guys without special training will not be able to do that.

  55. […] far, the most popular post on Lone Iguana is the guide to becoming Jason Bourne, a complete analysis of the films.…And the most popular item folks click on is the pencil Bourne uses in The Bourne […]

  56. www.davidwadsworth.co.uk Avatar

    Nice step-by-step description. Thank you.

  57. KingOfHearts Avatar
    KingOfHearts

    Gentlemen, When I am on TechOp I never use a Bluetooth Headset because a Bluetooth Headsets uses a rechargeable battery with a limited use period in comparison to a wired earpiece that uses no more power than the phones internal speaker and microphone.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Thanks for weighing in!

  58. David webb Avatar
    David webb

    What is the name of monocular?(JASON BOURNE used)
    (According to my guess, it’s maybe “BARSKA BLUELINE 10X40 CLOSE FOCUS MONOCULAR)

  59. Joel Spiering Avatar
    Joel Spiering

    I always wondered how Bourne got the finger print of Vosen, because the safe is voice AND fingerprint activated.

  60. toastedelephant Avatar
    toastedelephant

    @david not sure, but thanks for weighing in!

    @joel If you watch carefully, Bourne actually pulls a print from Vosen’s mouse and uses that

  61. porto pinto Avatar
    porto pinto

    omg, perfect place to be this website. happy to discover it 🙂

    my guess is that the monocular he uses is one with zoom functionality, by the looks of it i will say it is

    10-25x42mm Battalion Zoom Close Focus Monocular By Barska

    however, no matter how hard i look, i seem to think what he has is a bit thinner and more compact than this and has a button…

    What is the name of monocular?(JASON BOURNE used)
    (According to my guess, it’s maybe “BARSKA BLUELINE 10X40 CLOSE FOCUS MONOCULAR)

  62. Nahid Hasan Shuvo Avatar

    What is model of panasonic telephone in Bourne’s home that he uses after taking Marie in his home in ‘The Bourne Identity’? Further clarification: watch 40 mins 40 secs of ‘The Bourne Identity’.

  63. Kaci Avatar
    Kaci

    For the Bourne Supremacy, you need to see the deleted scenes. he gets the car by buying it off someone at the port as he is escaping.

  64. EK Avatar

    RE: Supremacy deleted scenes, I wonder why they deleted some of them. To me, parts of the movie made more sense. Example is Bourne burning the papers. Deleted scene shows him walking to the cabin where he had them stashed.
    RE: Safe deposit box scene. May I suggest among the contents of the box should be a bag that holds all of the stuff. Kind of stood out carrying that bright red bank bag. In addition, have the stuff already in the bag so you can grab it and run if needed. Situation may arise you may not have time.

  65. EK Avatar

    In watching all of the Bourne movies and a few others, I have been fascinated by the secret hiding places used to hide stuff. Among them is the cash behind the drawer in Supremacy after Marie was killed, as well as the deleted cabin scene where he burns the papers. Another is in Legacy, with the stash behind the back door panel, which I am not sure about, because my wife has the same Buick, and haven’t figured out how the panel was removed.
    Learning about CIA, spies, etc mostly through movies like this and books, mostly fiction…
    Do they really do this in real life, or is it just another TV/movie thing?
    Like the car scene mentioned above, was it his car that he prepped and parked there at some point before, like putting stuff in a locker at the train station like Bourne did?
    The cabin scene mentioned, did he own the cabin himself, or rent it from someone?
    Same question, different movie, Enemy of the State, did Brill own the warehouse that had his “jar” in? I can see blowing up a building you own, but if someone else owned it?

  66. Bree Avatar
    Bree

    A deleted scene that I found on the Bourne trilogy DVD set shows he buys the car from some guys.

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