[year/rating] 2002 PG-13 [genre] Spy Thriller [director] Doug Liman [starring] Matt Damon Franka Potente Chris Cooper Brian Cox

Tagline

He was the perfect weapon until he became the target.

Summary Capsule

Killing machine with amnesia takes on all comers at a bid for freedom. Film at 11:00.

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Check out this movie in VHS or DVD, and the soundtrack CD

Clare's Rating: This one sneaks up on ya.
Clare's Review: First, a brief plot synopsis to get the ball rolling. The Bourne Identity is based on the like-titled novel by Robert Ludlum about a US government operative who wakes up one day in the middle of the ocean riddled with gunshot wounds and with no memory at all of who he is or how he got there. The rest of this sorted tale is basically about how he tries to piece together his fractured memory while simultaneously attempting to avoid being picked off by any number of people he doesn't know who are trying to kill him.

"It's dependable entertainment. It's gotten me through some hard times."

Normally, I'd say that pulling off a movie with a set up that ripe with possibility without having the results be cliché, annoying, stupid and boring would be kind of hard to do. However, the director of this little gem is Mr. Doug Liman who is responsible for two other movies I think kick ass: Swingers and Go. The other big thing this movie has going for it is Matt Damon. Usually action-adventure movies like this will cast lead actors who are strong on the physical presence department but who have no discernable acting ability (see: Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears, Daredevil, Reindeer Games, Changing Lanes and Armageddon -- but I digress). Damon breathes life into this character and makes his struggles to both figure out what the hell is going on and to keep himself and his traveling companion (the always interesting Franka Potente) alive very accessible and by extension of that, very engrossing.

I went to see this movie in theaters when it came out. And I liked it well enough. Then, when it came out on video, I bought it on a whim since I remembered thinking it was pretty good when I saw it the first time. Since then, even though I haven't outwardly (or even inwardly) decided that I REALLY love this movie, I've watched it all the way through any time I run into it on TV. Sometimes if I'm bored and I don't have anything else to do, I'll pop it in and watch it until I'm satisfied or I think of something else to do. So the facts in evidence would suggest that this movie and I really get along. It's dependable entertainment. It's gotten me through some hard times. But for some reason, when I think about action movies I get all goose pimply about, this one doesn't really immediately come to mind.

So I'll just make it official. I think The Bourne Identity is a really well-made, well-executed, well-acted and very entertaining action thriller. I'm really looking forward to the sequel even if they've changed directors for the second installment. (Apparently Doug Liman makes good movies, but not very efficiently and not without pissing off a lot of people in the process.) I think Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne and I really hope he's able to give this franchise legs for a while.

So if you're not doing anything all that pressing and you're in the mood for an engrossing action thriller, pick up The Bourne Identity. I can't guaranty that you'll want to name your first born (no pun intended) after it, but I'm reasonably confident you'll find SOMETHING worth liking here.

Dates don't come cheap for Matt Damon. Poor guy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for being in Run Lola Run. I learned to run from that movie!" Damn noob campers

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

If you wanna see who did what, yeah, I'd recommend staying through the end credits. Especially since there are no opening credits at all.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

This movie is teaming with great You Know That Guys, not the least of which is retired YKTG, Mr. Chris Cooper. Other YKTG's to keep an eye out for: Brian Cox (Manhunter, X2, Braveheart, Rushmore and Super Troopers among about a million other things); Clive Owen (Croupier, Greenfingers, Gosford Park); Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (OZ (tv), Congo, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Mummy Returns); Walton Goggins (The Shield (tv), The Next Karate Kid, The Apostle, Shanghai Noon); Josh Hamilton (Alive!, Kicking and Screaming, The House of Yes)

Groovy Quotes

Jason Bourne: Who has a safety deposit box full of... money and six passports and a gun? Who has a bank account number in their hip? I come in here, and the first thing I'm doing is I'm catching the sightlines and looking for an exit.
Marie: I see the exit sign, too. I'm not worried. I mean, you were shot. People do all kinds of weird and amazing stuff when they are scared.
Jason Bourne: I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?

Marie: He went out the window... why would someone do that?

Jason Bourne: How could I forget about you? You're the only person I know.

DVD Review

Alternate ending (which I actually liked better than the one that ended up in the movie), commentary from the director and a behind the scenes "making of" documentary fill this DVD out nicely.

Soundtrack Review

Very effective use of dance/rave music during many of the chase and fight scenes. This approach was repeated regularly in films that followed including The Transporter and XXX.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• The Fugitive
• The Bourne Supremacy
• The Long Kiss Goodnight