Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:58 - Released 6/14/02
THE BOURNE IDENTITY
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:58 - Released 6/14/02
With the intelligent twists of a spy novel, the talented eye of
director Doug Liman (Go), and actors
like Matt Damon, Franka Potente, and Chris Cooper, The Bourne
Identity is about as effective a thriller as you could want,
especially if you don't want to think too hard. It does suffer
from occasional lapses in credibility, probably brought on by
the inability on the part of screenwriters Tony Gilroy and William
Blake Herron to include all the intricate plot elements of Robert
Ludlum's novel; what results is a rather formulaic (albeit enjoyable)
story about a man who doesn't know who he is but figures he must
be somebody, since people keep shooting at him.
Damon plays Jason Bourne (although, to be truthful, that's
just one of the half-dozen or so identities he eventually discovers
in his collection of international passports), who is found unconscious
floating in the Mediterranean Sea by a boatful of fishermen. Upon
closer inspection, Bourne finds that he has several things embedded
in his skin, like a few bullets, a "Winona" tattoo (just
kidding), and a small metal pellet with the account number for
a safety deposit box in Switzerland. When he opens the box, he
finds the several passports mentioned, many thousands of dollars,
and a gun. He also finds that showing up at the bank sets in motion
a complex international plot to assassinate him led by Ted Conklin
(Cooper), who is actually his boss in a highly placed CIA operation.
But he doesn't know that yet.
While evading the Swiss law enforcement and various other assorted
snipers, thugs, and hit men, he meets a young woman named Marie
Kreutz (Potente) who seems to have her own I.D. problems. The
two of them vamoose to Paris, where, according to information
from the box, Bourne keeps an apartment, but soon they find that
they can't vamoose to anywhere without having bad guys waiting
for them, since they are up against the most effective information-gathering
network in the world. Luckily, Jason also possesses, for reasons
unknown to him, the ability to think, act, and react like a master's
student in the James Bond Academy, sensing when danger is imminent
and effectively eluding it at every turn. You know, if you don't
know who you are, it's at least good to know you can beat people
up. Eventually he learns his connection not only to Conklin, but
to an exiled African political leader (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje),
but not before fending off numerous assassination attempts and
endangering the lives of Marie and several others who have the
misfortune to ever be in his vicinity.
This is very much a meat-and-potatoes type thriller, a satisfying "guy movie" with all the requisite elements, including shootouts, car chases, and the lead character figuring out incredibly complex things while we all just watch in wonder. Damon is as reliable as ever, and Potente is cute, sexy, and has a nice accent. What else can I say? Oh, yeah—don't forget the popcorn. ****