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The Bourne Identity (Widescreen Collector's Edition) Customer Reviews (4 - 6 of 62 Reviews)

"I have this condition"... redux with explosions
"The Bourne Identity" is one of those movies that starts, plays out, and ends all so self-containedly that once you walk out of the theatre, the world of the film evaporates. Everything is so compact and perfectly contained that it leaves the viewer with no lasting impressions or even a real memory of it. There are no deep psychological or philosophical issues at work in the script, and none of the action is really impressive enough to warrant discussion later. Just think of this as Matt Damon's bid to be placed on the ever-increasing list of 'actors starring in forgettable spy flicks' alongside Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith. "The Bourne Identity" is just more insulting in its mediocrity because of its origins - the book that this movie is ostensibly based on is actually quite interesting.

Sadly, when considered wholly, this movie is so much less than a sum of its parts. The acting is very good, the script isn't completely dumb (if not exactly brimming with witty dialogue), and the camerawork and the locations are gorgeous. Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, if looking a bit too much of a callow kid to be a hard-edged CIA assassin, is convincing and engaging as a man who has too many locked secrets in his head and has lost his key. Franka Potente, most famous for her athletic role in "Run, Lola, Run" is a nice change from the stereotypical token love interest in movies such as these. Not pretty in a conventional sense and trying hard to be the 'feisty partner' that other movies have dictated that she be, but not quite succeeding, Potente actually makes an impact with her anomalous appearance. The big disappointments come with Julia Stiles and Clive Owen, both billed on the poster, and both receiving little more than cameo appearances. Stiles spends her four scenes attached to a computer keyboard, and Owen has only about five lines and some moaning to do. A sad waste of fine actors, even if their bits are well performed.

The real downfall of "Bourne" lies in its plot, though. It's not so much the gross story line, which we've seen over and over again with different actors righting different villainous plots, but the smaller details that just bring a sense of unreality to the proceedings. A man with two bullet holes in his back lowering himself by his arms down a building? Julia Stiles as the head of a Parisian safe-house? Excuse me while I go put logic out of its misery forever. It's not so much the fact that we are told to check our brains at the door, but that all the proceedings are done with a seriousness that makes one think that a brain might actually be needed.

Forget about "The Bourne Identity".

The Damon Identity changes--to action hero.
The Bourne Identity is a solid, efficient, old-fashioned thriller that gives us everything we could want in a summer shoot-'em-up. Robert Ludlum's ingenious original story--he made Jason Bourne COMPLETELY alone, hunted by the police and his own colleagues alike, without even memory to help him--is given swift, streamlined treatment by director Doug Liman, with plenty of explosions, assassinations, car chases and double-crosses to keep us on the edge of our seats. Matt Damon gives an assured, charismatic performance as Bourne, his weathered baby face giving the character a certain poignancy without detracting in the slightest from his credibility. He's nobody's male ingenue anymore! German actress Franka Potente lives up to her last name: she's a potent and sexy screen presence, not particularly pretty but far more alluring than many women who are. And it's interesting to see Chris Cooper, normally typecast as a nice guy, give such a thoroughly creepy performance as Bourne's treacherous CIA boss. I was disappointed to see Clive Owen wasted in a role beneath his talents, but the rest of the movie ticks away with the deadly efficiency of a Rolex watch attached to a time bomb.

The Bourne Identity is among the best of its genre
Director Doug Liman deserves an academy award nomination for The Bourne Identity. Alas, it will probably not happen because this stupendous film is not perceived as "serious" by the Hollywood snob elite. Liman is a master of creating breath taking camera shots. His talent is similar in this regard to the late Stanley
Kubrick. The choreographed fighting scenes and highlights of Europe compel your rapt attention. You will not be tempted to move your eyes away from the screen even for a split second. I have no idea if the film version is loyal to Robert Ludlum's novel, but this current interpretation is mind boggling effective and beautifully written. The only thing required of the viewer is to suspend one's logical faculties. This is not an intellectual Ipcress File or The Spy who Came in From the Cold. Think James Bond with a dash of Our Man Flint, and allow yourself to be swept away by super spy and assassin, Jason Bourne.

Matt Damon surprisingly succeeds as Bourne in this non stop escapist spy thriller. He easily steps into the role of a CIA controlled agent who has lost his memory. Why does he have couple of bullet holes in his back? The lethal talents remain, but is he a good or evil man? People are trying to either capture or murder him. One thing leads to another, and our protagonist finds out that he might be a Jason Bourne who resides in Paris. He also runs into Marie (Franka Potente) who helps Bourne escape from one especially threatening predicament. And yes, there is the required chemistry exuded by the two lovers during their adventures together. We learn that a CIA boss (Chris Cooper) relentlessly pursues Bourne to save his own skin. Bourne failed to successfully carry out a mission and almost certainly will prove to be an embarrassment, if not even a career destroyer of his bosses. There is never a dull moment in The Bourne Identify. The remaining cast selection is near perfect. Damon's youth virtually guarantees that he will be in many more action films. Another actor who will compete with Damon for these sort of movie scripts is British actor Clive Owen. Thus, it is only appropriate that Owen shares a few scenes as Bourne's cohort who is now assigned to eliminate him. Lastly, I predict that a sequel will be made of The Bourne Identity. This property will be too hot not to do so.

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