Jason Bourne continues to stand tall as one of the best action movie anti-heroes in all of cinema. The character is based upon Robert Ludlum's original novels, which were later adapted into four feature films beginning with 2002's The Bourne Identity. Matt Damon starred as the titular character - a man suffering from amnesia who gradually uncovers the truth about his past as an assassin working under a secretive program known as Treadstone.
Audiences were dazzled by the excellent scripts, heavy tension and spectacular action sequences in all four films, and this included the battles between Bourne and many of his antagonists.
The Consulate Fight (The Bourne Identity)
This fight served as the first true demonstration of Bourne's legendary hand-to-hand combat training, and it helped established just how dangerous this character truly was. As a Treadstone operative caught up in a larger-than-life conspiracy, Jason Bourne could infiltrate any situation as a one-man army, complete with the battle tactics and martial arts training necessary to subdue multiple enemies, if required.
When Marine guards and security personnel accost him in the middle of the American Consulate, Bourne quickly dispatches all three in what feels like the blink of an eye. His tactics are direct, brutal and unforgiving, leaving all three flat on their backs, and wondering if anyone got the license plate of that truck that just hit them.
Bourne Saves Ross (The Bourne Ultimatum)
Realizing that Guardian reporter Simon Ross was digging way too deep into the Treadstone story, Bourne arranged a meeting with him to try and warn him about the dangerous path he was on. It soon became clear that his life was in danger when CIA agents descended on their location.
Bourne engaged in a brutal hallway fight with them while keeping Ross out of harm's way. It was one of the most punishing scenes of The Bourne Ultimatum, not just because of the fight, but because it had all been for naught. Ross disobeyed Bourne's instructions and ended up getting assassinated by a Blackbriar agent.
The Pit Fight (Jason Bourne)
It's clear in the fourth film that Jason Bourne is not the man he once was, as evidenced by his early participation in a series of fights in Athens, Greece. Something is weighing on him, and it nearly costs him a later match against a particularly burly-looking fellow who keeps Bourne on the ropes.
That is until Bourne spots Nicky Parsons in the amped-up crowd, which could only mean one thing. Re-energized, Bourne fought back, easily defeating his opponent so that he could exit the match and meet up with Nicky in order to find out what was going on.
Bourne Vs Kirill (The Bourne Supremacy)
Although Bourne and Kirill didn't finish their beef with a fistfight, it was one of the most pivotal battles of the franchise. It all started when Bourne traveled to Moscow to find Irena, the daughter of Vladimir Neski, one of his previous assassination targets. Kirill made one final play to take him down at the behest of Russian oligarch Yuri Gretkov.
The two took the battle to the streets, with Bourne fleeing in a taxi cab whilst Kirill pursued in an SUV. The chase caused a lot of damage and mayhem before it eventually went into a freeway tunnel, where Bourne smashed Kirill into a concrete divider. Rather than kill the man responsible for the death of his lover Marie, Bourne decided to call it quits and walk away.
Bourne Vs The Professor (The Bourne Identity)
Clive Owen starred as Treadstone agent The Professor in the first Bourne film, and it was one of the most memorable fights of the entire series. After finishing a job initially assigned to Bourne, the Professor was tasked with killing him as well, in order to tie up loose ends. He tracked Bourne and Marie to her friend Eamon's countryside house.
When it became clear that they were in danger of sniper fire from the Professor, Bourne went into full battle mode. He first blew up a gas tank to provide smoke cover before circling around and flanking the Professor from the side. The two eventually squared off in a field where Bourne used a double-barrel shotgun to wound him before putting a shell clear through his chest.
Bourne Vs Castel (The Bourne Identity)
When Jason Bourne and Marie Kreutz finally made their way to an apartment in France that was supposedly used by him as a cover base, the two are attacked by an activated Treadstone assassin named Castel. This fight is far more evenly matched than what Bourne was used to since both were trained by the same handlers.
The fight is brutal from start to finish, with Castel and Bourne locking horns in a vicious throwdown. Castel pulls out a blade and tries to knife Bourne, forcing the latter to even the odds by grabbing a pen from the table and using it as a stabbing weapon. The scene is memorable for the part where he jams the pen into the top of Castel's hand, forcing him to yank it out in front of the audience.
Bourne Vs Bouksani (The Bourne Ultimatum)
Jason Bourne faced one of his toughest opponents in the third film when he went up against Blackbriar agent Bouksani. He had failed to prevent the assassin from murdering CIA station chief Neal Daniels via a bomb, but Bouksani also had another target on his list - Nicky Parsons.
A frantic chase led Bourne to Bouksani, just moments before he was ready to empty a clip into Parsons. The two engaged in a spectacularly brutal fight that nearly overwhelmed Bourne. Fortunately, he was able to use his adaptation tactics to find a weak point and he killed Bouksani in the bathroom by strangling him with a face towel.
Bourne Vs Jarda (The Bourne Supremacy)
Lord of the Rings and xXx actor Marton Csokas starred in the second Bourne film as Jarda, the last known Treadstone operative besides Jason Bourne. He's paid a visit by Bourne in Munich, where he discovers that the Treadstone operation has been shut down following the assassination of Bourne's previous handler, Conklin.
Jarda uses a brief distraction to attack Bourne, nearly killing him in the process, despite having his hands zip-tied at the front. Bourne manages to free himself from a strangling chokehold before turning the tables and killing Jarda. Why he didn't think to zip-tie Jarda's hands around his back is anyone's guess.
The Safehouse Fight (The Bourne Identity)
Bourne managed to track his previous handler, Conklin, and his logistics tech, Nicky Parsons, to a Treadstone safe house in Paris, where he directly threatened Conklin to leave him be or risk starting a war. After figuring out what happened that fateful night when he lost his memory, Bourne makes an exit from the safe house, but it wasn't going to be easy.
Agents quickly descended on the location and Bourne was forced to fight his way out. After subduing two agents, Bourne kicked one of their bodies over the railing and jumped on his back, plummeting several floors to the ground. He managed to shoot the third and final assailant in the head on the way down, using his unconscious foe to break his fall when the two finally landed.
Bourne Vs The Asset (Jason Bourne)
The mysterious assassin known as The Asset had a personal vendetta with Bourne, and it became all the more so after he assassinated Nicky Parsons right in front of Bourne's eyes. Not willing to let that go unpunished, Bourne pursued him through Las Vegas before the two came face to face in the underground sewer system.
It would prove to be his most difficult fight, having suffered a gunshot wound just a few minutes prior. The two used every dirty street fighting tactic in the book before the Asset got the upper hand and tried to strangle Bourne to death. Bourne then managed to turn the fight around at the last second and snapped The Asset's neck, ending the fight for good.