Few franchises have proved as influential on the action genre as the original Bourne trilogy did in the early 2000s. Based on the beloved novels by Robert Ludlum, the films proved a drastic shift for spy thrillers, which most at the time associated with the campy aesthetic of 007. Doug Limans work on The Bourne Identity and especially Paul Greengrasss work on the second and third installments felt dark and gritty, which was particularly refreshing in a pre-Batman Begins world. Within a decade, action films were defined by quick cutting, shaky camerawork, and hand-to-hand combat, for both better and worse.