The Bourne Identity is an action thriller that stars Mett Damon (Good Will Hunting) and Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), and is directed by Doug Liman (Go, Swingers).

Story:
A fishing boat picks up a man that is close to death. When the man awakes, he has no memory of anything that occurred before losing consciousness, and in fact has no idea of his own identity. After leaving the fishing boat, he finds himself tracked by authorities and continually on the run for his safety. As situations arise, he learns that he is extremely capable in both combat and general strategic tactics. He pays a woman to take him to Paris, who ends up on the run with him.

The Good:
I must admit that I didn't expect much from this. The preview made it look dull and extremely cliche, but it is in fact, quite a solid thriller. The acting, while not astounding, is passable, and the direction by Liman is of high quality. It does keep the audience intrigued as to who Bourne is and why he is being chased, and with him being just as in the dark as the audience, makes for an interesting trip. I think Matt Damon makes a reasonable hero, and I'm sure we're going to see more of him in this type of action-guy role.

The Bad:
As mentioned before, the whole movie is based (and filmed), in Europe which gives it a distinct European flavour. I feel that this style has found it's way into both the special effects and the scene selection as well. The special effects, while being adequate, are certainly not breath-taking. Occassionally, they do border on being quite poor, but not too much to ruin the film. As far as the scenes go, there is the standard car chase, the standard fist fight, and the standard love interest, which leads me to the main problem I have with the film. It's all been done before. There really isn't anything that stands out as being highly original or memorable in The Bourne Identity. It is nothing more than a solid thriller. I must also mention that one particular action scene bothered me tremendously. I feel they overstepped the believablity line that they had kept intact until then. (You'll know the one when you see it.)

Conclusion:
Solid and intriguing, but cliche and occassionally sloppy. I'm not so sure that they are going to be able to turn this into a Bond-like franchise, which seems to be their intentions, but I guess with the success the movie has had, we will no doubt be seeing Matt Damon continue the adventures of Jason Bourne in the future.

6.5 out of 10

saw the film a while back Av- er Ben. I thought it was quite good, but I dont like the policy of taking down ur best agent... whilst in the proccess losing more... surely you TRY to recover him first yes? but thats just my view. I'd give the film, ah I dont know, 6 or 7 outa 10. Or so,. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Saw the movie a couple months ago, and i gotta say, I liked it alot.
The Trickster is right, the acting is acceptable and the story was entertaining.
This is a movie I would recommend to people who like either action or thriller movies, as this has enough of both to keep you interested.

Im not clear on which fight scene you were talking about, though... Was it the stair case? thats the only one I can think of...

That's the one! I mean....come on! :rolleyes:

[ 10-15-2002, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: The Trickster ]

Nice review dude [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
I love a good thriller but this doesn't sound the one for me. Think I'll read a few more reviews and see what else is available [img]smile.gif[/img]