10 Best Spy Films That AREN'T James Bond

While it was director Paul Greengrass who defined the "Bourne aesthetic" with sequels The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, there's a lot to be said about the calmer, more slow-burn qualities of the Doug Liman-directed original, The Bourne Identity, which remains my personal favourite of the trilogy.

The arrival of Jason Bourne and with him Matt Damon as an action star seemed to antiquate James Bond, with Pierce Brosnan's last outing as 007, Die Another Day, releasing the same year to a tepid critical and commercial response. Bourne necessitated Bond's evolution, but its legacy goes beyond the galvanisation of what was then a flagging franchise. It brought seventies-style conspiracy and paranoia into the 21st century, and with it a new approach to action.

The Bourne Identity also heralded the arrival of Tony Gilroy as a master of cutting dialogue, plotting and suspense. Gilroy, who was involved in the first three Bourne screenplays and directed the underrated spinoff film, The Bourne Legacy, brought believability, pathos and suspicion to the fore with his adaptations of Robert Ludlum's novels, providing the perfect framework for Liman and then Greengrass to develop their own trailblazing genre aesthetics.

Visually, it's far removed from the shaky kineticism of Greengrass' sequels, but that slower, more lingering photography results in some of the series' best moments of suspense. There are a couple of Y2K quirks and tonal anachronisms, but otherwise, The Bourne Identity remains a touchstone for the 21st century spy thriller.