The Bourne Identity Reviews

Damn Fine Thriller

It was really good to see a good old fashioned quality Euro-thriller after watching so many boring US locations on film time after time. Paris provides a great backdrop to the excellent story and action, with Matt Damon doing a fine job in an action role firing guns and kicking ass in superb (albeit speeded up) fight scenes.

Along with a uniformly strong cast this all adds up to one of the better thrillers of recent years.

Retro thriller

Based on a 1980 novel by Robert Ludlum ? and a 1988 TV movie of the same name starring Richard Chamberlain ? ?The Bourne Identity? is an espionage thriller and is directed by Doug Liman who also made Swingers and Go.

The action begins as an Italian fishing vessel scoops a body out of the ocean. The ship?s doctor nurses the man ? who has two bullet holes in his back and a little laser gizmo embedded in his skin that projects a bank account number ? to health. Unfortunately, the man (Matt Damon) has no memory of who he is or how he got there.

He makes his way to Switzerland to check the bank account, where he finds a safe deposit box filled with guns, fake passports and money of different currencies. However, it soon becomes clear that Jason Bourne is a wanted man and a variety of heavies and hit men begin to pursue him across Europe. He is aided in his flight by Franka Potente, while CIA boss Chris Cooper marshals agents Clive Owen and Julia Stiles against him.

It?s skilfully directed by Liman throughout, the first third of the movie is tremendously suspenseful as we empathise with Damon?s confusion and disorientation. Moreover though, this is a fresh take on the spy thriller, Bond appears moribund by comparison. The emphasis is on character and atmosphere rather than special effects and gadgets. The cinematography captures perfectly the chill of an alpine winter and the attention to detail is obvious throughout. For example, when Damon and Potente flee Switzerland in her battered Mini Cooper, the interior car scenes show the windows misted up. Damon also only changes his clothes when he logically can, forcing him to parade for nearly half the film in his bullet riddled jersey.

It?s essentially a genre movie made by an independent director giving it an offbeat edge. Damon and Potente and not traditional middle class, materialistic, protagonists. Like the characters in Go and Swingers they are slightly marginalized, but also cool and hip. This is reinforced by the iconic nature of the mini cooper and the dance soundtrack.

But it also offers more traditional pleasures, such as a thrilling car chase against the traffic in Paris - an obvious nod to Ronin ? or Damon?s mastery of marshal arts. Just like Swingers and Go, this film has been largely overlooked by critics who cannot relate to the characters and general ambience of the movie. Yet, just like Doug Liman?s previous films, word of mouth is excellent and it is genuinely amongst the best films of the year.

An action movie with brains and acting

An excellent film of a type too rarely seen now. What stands out is the realism of the principle characters' reponse to the extraordinary situations. The work between Damon and Potente (mostly done without any background music) is very convincing. The machinations of the security apparatus they found themself in are convincingly sinister yet they are not omnipotent ... and there is a fine car chase.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Preposterous thriller that lacks edge

The Bourne Identity is a preposterous but mildly enjoyable thriller and that’s about all you can say about it really. You can pick holes in it’s logic and cringe at the formulaic happy ending, but you should enjoy the action sequences- one Matrix rip off fight is particularly good fun- and find the escalating tension quite…errr tense.

Matt Damon is not ideal for this role, far too clean cut and American pie for the role of an action hero, he lacks edge. Solid support comes from Brian Cox and Chris Cooper and Franka Potente is suitably bewildered as the innocent bystander dragged innocently into a situation she doesn’t understand.

Clive Owen plays an assassin and I couldn’t help thinking he’d have been more suited to the lead role which in turn would have lent the film an air of plausibility it mostly lacks. The cold blooded killing of one of the films leading characters gives the script a dark twist that seems horribly possible given the world these people inhabit. It’s a pity there wasn’t more of that type of plot development but once again you get the feeling the producers weren’t interested in making an adult film but yet another multi-plex blockbuster. Pity.

High octane James Bond

Watching this film is like watching a cross between a PS2 Arcade game of a shoot 'em up and a modern James Bond film without a smoothie James Bond. The plot is relatively good, not simple but as it unravels you actually keep a grip on what's happening. Plenty of action and good effects make this a very watchable film and worth the rent money.

Fast-paced fun!

This is a great little movie, and though it requires to viewer to turn a blind eye to logic and realism it's none the less thorughly satisfying and enjoyable. It was great to watch a modern action/spy film that does rely almost wholy on CG stunts and explosions to impress it's audience.

Matt Damon at his best, definetly worth a rental and an evening of your time.

yes yes yes

You must watch this and it doesn't matter whether you're a boy or girl! It has everything anyone could want. The tension is perfectly balanced and Damon's portrayal of a man trying to find his identity and past is brilliantly portrayed.

No OTT acting (though, let's face it, some of the stunts are rather Unbelievable!) from either lead which helps to make the characters' predicament in this film seem credible. Yes, there's some gun fighting and a (fab) car chase.

Watch how the characters react when it's over - love it! There's some blood, too, but no gratuitous violence/sex, so if you're squeamish this is fine for you. Am off to watch the sequel now.

Pure Class

Who would have thought that a twenty year old novel by a theatrical actor would result in one of the best action thrillers we've seen in years? Now that the James Bond films are getting progressively less interesting, the world needed a new action hero to take his place for the time being. Jason Bourne is just that.

A wounded man is recovered by a fishing boat in the mediterranean. When he wakes up, he finds he is without any memory of who he is or how he came to be in this situation. He then races to discover his identity, while fighting both the law and the shady government operatives who are out to get him. Even though 'The Bourne Identity' is a full-blown action thriller that pulls out all the stops, there is a sense of realism which permeates everything throughout (with the possible exception of one 'stunt' at the end -- you'll know which one I mean). Matt Damon is excellent as the confused, frightened amnesiac, and it never hurts to have Franka Potente in ANY movie.

In short I found this to be an action movie with brains, and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing the sequel.

An identity of its own

Watched today for the second time since originally released some 2 years ago.

This gritty ‘Ronin-style’ film avoids the usual Hollywood temptation for glamorous settings and massive explosions, too often associated with movies of this genre. Instead, it focuses on a degree of relative realism and originality.

An impressive performance by Matt Damon.

Most enjoyable and highly recommended.

The Bourne Identity

Having read the book recently, I am now in a better position to criticise the movie. Although the movie itself was indeed brilliant, there are some huge differences between it and the book. For those who have not read the Robert Ludlum, I strongly recommend it, but enough of the book and onto the movie. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a CIA agent who has lost his memory after a failed assignation attempt. He is found floating in the waters just off Marseille and is rescued by a French fishing trawler. He is then hunted down by the CIA as they try to ?silence? him as they fear he has turned sour. Matt Damon is superb as the betrayed agent and as the movie draws on we really see the anguish that has befallen him by the loss of his memory. Franka Potente is exceptional as the woman that Bourne recruits to drive him to Paris. Now he has a car, there are some fabulous chases around the streets of Paris. Although there are few prolonged action scenes, those that do last more than 5 minutes and wonderful and very well choreographed. There are many short set pieces that really could have gone on longer than in the movie but they leave you waning more. Unfortunately, there were some poor scenes that were trying to make an impact but just left with me cold. He is supposed to meet the head of the CIA in Paris yet he feels that something is wrong and leaves, I got the feeling that something more could have been made out of that particular scene. Yet despite one or two flaws, the whole movie comes together brilliantly and the plot is superb, even though it is nothing like the book. The next one in the series is The Bourne Supremacy, which if anything like the book should blow you away.

P.S: if you've seen and liked 'Bad Company' or any of the 24 series, then you should like this, I did.