The opening fishing-boat rescue throws the audience directly into the mystery, with bullets and a bank-account projector removed from Bourne's body. — Bill Simmons
Bourne opening the Swiss security-deposit box works because its passports, money, and weapon reveal a past he cannot remember. — Bill Simmons
The embassy escape is separated as its own scene because Bourne's training emerges through purposeful movement and improvised problem solving. — Chris Ryan
Matt Damon reportedly performed the embassy wall climb himself without a stunt double. — Chris Ryan
The diner scene communicates Bourne's skills through the exits, license plates, left-handed waitress, dangerous customer, and possible gun location.
Marie and Bourne develop a connection without a conventional exchange of personal backstory. — Chris Ryan
The apartment attack has a strong jump scare when Castel enters through the window. — Chris Ryan
The Paris car chase uses the small car, narrow streets, breaking glass, and a motorcycle jump to hit classic chase beats. — Chris Ryan
The field confrontation with Clive Owen is one participant's favorite because the waist-high camera and sparse dialogue create intimacy and tension. — Chris Ryan
The bloody dog never missing breakfast tells Bourne something is wrong, so he orders everyone into the basement.
The scene carries an emotional beat before the action when Bourne orders the family into the basement. — Bill Simmons
Instead of a long final-boss fight, Bourne outmaneuvers and quickly defeats the other assassin with a farmhouse shotgun. — Chris Ryan
Clive Owen's brief dying exchange reveals the cost of the assassins' conditioning.
Bourne's confrontation with Conklin is praised for declaring Jason Bourne dead and threatening an immediate response if pursued.
The stairwell escape ends with Bourne shooting downward while falling on another body, a heightened moment the panel still enjoys. — Chris Ryan
The farmhouse sequence is the final stated choice because it is offbeat, practical, and central to Bourne and Marie's relationship. — Chris Ryan
Damon would have overpowered the movie in 2015; missing this part and another led to The Martian, the best result for everybody. — Bill Simmons
No other casting what-ifs were found; the film seems to have been assembled quickly, and a Will Smith as Marty Baron idea is raised as a question. — Bill Simmons
Will Ferrell's 2005 Kicking & Screaming title; Josh Hamilton's baseball namesake; Max dating a 17-year-old; trivia and made-up games; boredom of finishing infomercials; faded heavy blue jeans; impetuous travel on a whim
Bomback reportedly considered fighting the title and later said he was lucky none of Ferrell's brilliant movies were called Kicking and Screaming. — Bill Simmons
Max dating a 17-year-old is number one; the "17 tomorrow" line is cringeworthy and she could have been an appropriate age.
The 90s were different, with Kobe Bryant and Jerry Seinfeld cited as dating 17-year-olds.
Playing trivia and dumb games to pass time, with unverifiable memories like the go bots, since nothing could be Googled. — Andy Greenwald
Finishing the stain remover commercial shows how bored people could be; hungover Saved by the Bell and Days of Our Lives viewing and the OJ trial as time killers.
The faded, heavy blue jeans went out about ten years ago. — Bill Simmons
The impetuous freedom to buy a ticket and fly to Prague tomorrow is moved to aged worst. — Andy Greenwald
Having bought on-a-whim airport tickets while dating someone outside Boston, it did not work out. — Bill Simmons
The pick is narrowed from the opening cocktail party to Josh Hamilton and Olivia Diaba on the balcony, where she says she is going to Prague and he claims he has been to Prague; it introduces their relationship. — Bill Simmons
Prague was a mythical post-Berlin-Wall destination heard about on campuses, requiring a Fodor's book, a visa and travelers checks, so "going to Prague" became a thing in itself. — Andy Greenwald
A college roommate came back from a Prague junior year abroad judging everyone; skipping a semester abroad is a regret; the movie was seen on Thayer Street in Providence before the first Starbucks there. — Bill Simmons
The graduation party is up there with the wedding in The Godfather for getting to know every character, Skippy, Max and Otis. — Chris Ryan
The "You never even been to Prague" exchange riffs on the stop-shaving-your-armpits, read-The-Unbearable-Lightness-of-Being version of Prague.
The book club scene, added because Eric Stoltz had to be shoehorned in with ad-libbed scenes, has about seven laugh-out-loud lines about All the Pretty Horses.
Hollywood roller coaster: Stoltz was removed from Back to the Future, and ten years later this movie could not get money without him. — Andy Greenwald
Further nominations: Grover confronting Max about sleeping with Miami, with Chet sneaking back in; Skippy confronting Max; and Grover and Chet at the bar, where Chet saw it as a postponement of his life until realizing it was his life. — Bill Simmons
The final airport scene is spectacular: Grover's roughly three-minute monologue on a whim to go to Prague, with the camera on him.
Hamilton's airport performance echoes Dustin Hoffman banging on the church at the end of The Graduate. — Andy Greenwald
If asked at the end of 1995 which five young actors to bet on, Chris O'Donnell, Damon and Omar Epps would have been on the list along with Hamilton; the part could easily have been a Matt Damon part, but Hamilton is perfect in it. — Bill Simmons
Hamilton suffers on Google from the Texas Rangers ballplayer of the same name and is part of the 90s New York theater crew with Billy Crudeup, Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard. — Andy Greenwald
Jessica Hacked, who was on Friends as the lesbian lover of Ross's ex-wife, is great as the stewardess in the airport scene. — Bill Simmons
The flashbacks work, perhaps as the story Grover is writing, and the ending goes straight into the Fridi Johnson song Bad Reputation, a needle drop that hits like a bomb.
The last line, "let's pretend we're an old couple," happens before everything chronologically, and they do not actually kiss. — Andy Greenwald
The airport scene is one pick, with a special shout-out to the entire graduation party as a meet-everyone-at-a-gathering opening.
Every scene is equally rewatchable because the tone is so consistent, but the shout-out goes to the scene where he would rather be bow hunting.
Is the movie better with Matt Damon in the Barry Pepper part? Reasons: whether he would be better, whether it is a fun new role for him, and whether a Rounders-reunion cast with Norton, Hoffman and Spike Lee raises its Oscar ceiling; this is asked while liking Pepper. — Bill Simmons
A reply: Damon changes the stakes and would require fleshing the character out more; Pepper became a better actor as the decade went on. — Wesley Morris
Another view: it is probably a longer movie but taken more seriously as an awards movie because of the names. — Bill Simmons
Pepper's career is reviewed, with his run ending after this period; playing a role in Battlefield Earth alongside Travolta is called a red flag, but he is called a good actor and great in this movie. — Bill Simmons
What is the Hoffman character's Monday like? Awkward, probably handing in his resignation. — Bill Simmons
Will Rosario Dawson's character be waiting when Monty gets out in seven years? The answer is no, she is long gone, and the dad is probably dead. — Bill Simmons
What is her job? It is unclear; maybe a waitress, maybe a student, since she was 17 when they met, the same age as the Anna Pacquin character. — Wesley Morris
From the Action Hero Championship Belt piece: this was an 'A-Fucking-Pex' stretch for Arnold with Kindergarten Cop and T2 within about 14 months, but asked to choose, the others pick T2 as his Apex. — Bill Simmons
Terminator 2 or 1 is the movie tied to Arnold forever; Total Recall is the deep cut, and the stretch culminates in T2. — Shea Serrano
His pay, veto power and 15% of profits may have earned him $100 million, though this was not his most successful movie. — Bill Simmons
Rachel Ticotin is contested: this might be her Apex for her action work, while another host picks Man on Fire as his personal Apex and a better performance.
Marshall Bell (George and Kuato) is picked over Ironside because he plays two characters in one scene; both are briefly allowed, and it is called the Apex of both careers. — Jason Concepcion
Ironside is then placed at Starship Troopers instead, since a host assigns Apex by the first role that comes to mind; the others accept. — Shea Serrano
For Ronny Cox, one answer is RoboCop while two voices pick this role. — Shea Serrano
Mars: the case is made that this, not The Martian, is Mars's Apex, since it is about an idealized Mars rather than a Matt Damon vehicle that could have been set on the moon. — Jason Concepcion
A host leans to The Martian but concedes; the argument cites that living on Mars still seemed conceivable in 1990 and that the way characters say 'Mars' is more fun.
Venusville is mentioned, and three-breasted and four-breasted women are named an Apex because they have never been seen since. — Bill Simmons
A case is made for Pitt, Damon and Soderbergh; the leaning is Damon or Soderbergh, since Damon jumps off the screen and almost didn't do it. — Amanda Dobbins
Joke candidates: the long-term health of humanity, Obama's 2008 win, and Europe as a contender. — Sean Fennessey
Soderbergh is the pick: the first is a movie-star movie, this is a director movie with no wasted shots. — Chris Ryan
A planned Amsterdam history podcast and Rikes Museum (as transcribed) talk follow; one asks the real winner again.
Amanda's Europe idea is praised, with Italy and The Talented Mr. Ripley noted. — Amanda Dobbins
Soderbergh and Europe are declared co-winners, with apologies to Pitt and Damon. — Chris Ryan
Pitt seems miserable at this time, his life heavily scrutinized around Troy and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and one can argue Ocean's 12 is his Apex Mountain. — Chris Ryan
Arsenal FC is nominated, with Liverpool fandom ribbing and speculation that the film helped Americans discover the club. — Chris Ryan
Amsterdam is jokingly nominated, prompting a spat about its history.
Lake Como is offered since the film popularized it in the American consciousness alongside Clooney's house there, followed by gossip about Clooney's dating life.
For a certain kind of silk shirt it is Apex Mountain; Pitt's outfits are art, but no one else should dress like him, and Ocean's 12 is not a heist manual.
No nominees; this is a takeoff point for Damon, whose apex is cutting Franca Potenta's hair in the first Born movie. — Amanda Dobbins
The pick is settled: 'Apex Mountain Brad Pitt. Let's just say that.' — Chris Ryan
