The Bourne Identity

Maybe its me, but it gives me a familiar feeling when I see a guy in a turtleneck sweater, an overcoat and a rifle. I know its a cliche, but why would this movie re-invent the medium anyway?

I also like car chases through foreign cities, passports and accents. So with all that intact, I liked 'The Bourne Identity' very much. It has all the elements of the genre. You know what you're getting and you get what you want.

There is no point in going over the plot. It gets confusing about 3/4 in but it does not matter that much. Its fun for two hours and that's it.

I have been a huge fan of Franka Potente since becoming mildly obsessed with 'Run Lola Run' and she does not disappoint. She has some real chemistry with Matt Damon and has a very sweet, inviting way about her. She is not traditional leading actress material, thank God, and I credit the producers for hiring her. Even more so when you realize that Julia Stiles has a small part in this movie. I am sure someone wanted a bigger 'name' to be Matt's female lead and it might have occured to more than one exec to switch Franka and Julia, but obviously I am glad that did not happen.

Clive Owen adds another strong performance to his resume. He has only one big scene, really, but makes the most of it. Chris Cooper and Brian Cox are known for their sturdy work and they also deliver here.

Excellent, summertime entertainment. 8/10.

Not that there is any bias intended against the spy film genre, far from it. Nor with films that contain a good deal, or a lot, of action. There are some good, very good even, ones out there. There are also however ones that are too derivative, are basically style over substance (a few not even executing the style particularly well) and favour can-see-it-coming "thrills" and "twists" and bombastic action over telling a good story.

What a pleasant surprise that 'The Bourne Identity' turned out to be. Had heard next to nothing but good things about the Bourne films and had been meaning to check them out for a while, while worrying as to whether they'd be my cup of tea or not. 'The Bourne Identity' not only does what it set out to do very well, with lots of fun and intrigue, but it is also a film that has a brain and respects its audience. It clearly knew what it wanted to be and who to aim it at.

Sure, the basic story is not exactly original, occasionally there is a little routine-ness. This doesn't really matter all that much though, because 'The Bourne Identity' succeeded in giving the genre a considerable freshness on the whole. It does lose its way a little towards the end, when things do become a little too cliché and some things could have been explained better and felt less confused. While still doing a good job, Clive Owen did deserve more to do than what he got, a come and go character that disappears too quickly and early.

However, visually 'The Bourne Identity' is very slick and stylish, special effects very wisely kept at minimum. Am not always a fan of the camera technique used here but here it added to the intensity and didn't feel that excessive or abused, certainly didn't look amateurish either. A reasonably dynamic soundtrack and authentic sound quality helps too, as does astute direction that keeps everything moving along with confidence.

'The Bourne Identity' contains a sharp and well written script that provokes thought, with nothing being confused, rambling or cheesy. The story for much of the length is exciting and has a considerable freshness that is really refreshing. The pacing is relentless, while avoiding the traps of being too hectic or being dull, neither of which it ever is. The action is very well choreographed, confidently performed and keeps one on the edge of their seat.

Matt Damon carries the title role with ease, and Franka Potente provides gutsy support, their chemistry to me was believable. Chris Cooper is fun, and while a little too briefly utilised Clive Owen and Brian Cox both do very good jobs.

In summary, surprisingly good and entertaining and a very good start to the Bourne films. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I can sympathize with reviewers who had read the book and were disappointed by this film and the liberties it apparently took with the story. I've had that happen with books I've enjoyed and it can spoil a film you might otherwise have liked. I never read the book, so I was able to appreciate this film on its own merits - slick, tough, fast-paced and refreshingly devoid of the kind of nonsense that has made the Bond films harder and harder to sit through.

I'm especially impressed by the fights, which, as other reviewers have pointed out, are among the most believable martial-arts-based fight scenes ever seen. No big grand gestures or Olympian kicks - just fast, nasty moves designed to inflict maximum damage with minimum effort.

The cast is uniformly good - even Damon, who is no fave of mine, comes across believably as a man who's trained to hold it all in, but isn't sure what it all is that he's holding in. Cooper, Cox and Owen shine in their all-too-brief screen time. Potente is attractive in a real person sort of way (sigh of relief for this genre) and possesses an inner strength that makes her character's actions and reactions ring truer than what we'd get from the traditional Hollywood eye-candy girlfriend these films normally feature.

From the gritty bowels of the trawler, where Damon awakens to his situation, to the field where he confronts his most deadly assailant, the locations are the antithesis of the travel poster hotspots that Bond so frequently visits. Despite its breakneck pace (handled so well by Liman and so poorly in the sequel by his protégé), the film manages to convey a sense of melancholy that lifts it a bit above the average action thriller. Sorry book fans - it may not be your cup of Ludlum, but it's still a damn fine little action flick.

Next to Ronin, this is one of the best action / spy movies that I've ever seen. I heard a lot of good critics, but didn't know what to think about it. I only saw it 2 years after it first appeared and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't go watch it in the cinema.

I'm not too keen on movies like James Bond and other stuff in this genre, but this one is a lot better. Normally you see the "super hero" using all kinds of weird gadgets, driving extremely fast sports cars and sleeping with ladies who look more like prostitutes than being normal women.

Jason Bourne however doesn't have all this things, which makes this movie a lot more realistic. The fights are fast and very realistic but still entertaining. The action scenes are believable, no super-gadgets, no incredibly willing women sharing his bed... Our hero even shows definite signs of physical vulnerability despite a very high level of training and competence. In the meanwhile he has to deal with amnesia, while being hunted without knowing why. In the end this is still a man which you can identify yourself with.

I would say: Go watch it when you are a fan of movies like Ronin, don't watch it if you think James Bond is a person who you can bump into on the streets when going out. Personally I would award this movie with an 8/10.

I have grown extremely tired of the typical formula spy film like Bond, or the juvenile stunt exhibition "Triple X." There have been a bare handful of spy films that feature relatively realistic spy thrillers, especially recently with a concentration on spectacular movies that have less substance than cotton candy.

Besides "The Bourne Identity," "Ronin" is the only other recent spy movie I can think of that didn't feature skydiving, bungie jumping, skiing downhill while shooting innumerable bad guys, laser pens, cars with ejection seats, or silicone breasted women with names you'd be vaguely embarrassed to say in front of your mother. Most of the crap that passes for an espionage film has no plot or reason for existing other than to meet a quota of explosions and cleavage in order to draw the summer action film crowd.

While "Bourne" does not have a particularly deep plot, it is consistent and focused. The focus is entirely upon Bourne and how he is to deal with having no memory of his past, being hunted without knowing why. Some people have complained about being confused by the movie. I for one, do not need to have everything spelled out since in many cases this smacks of unreality in the first place; the essence of espionage is drawing conclusions from very sketchy information. If you can't handle a little of that, you probably should stick to Disney films or TV's Scooby Doo where everything is explained in the end. We never find out about what is in the case in "Ronin" and I can live without some information being filled in about Bourne's past.

To those who have moaned about the incompatibility of the book and the movie, seek help. There are probably several things that work in the book that would either be boring and take too much screen time to explain, or would be viewed as cliche to modern screen audiences. As I remember, I liked the book, and I definitely like this movie. I view any movie adaptation as an interpretation of the book rather than a translation from words to pictures anyway.

As for realism, most of the action scenes are believable, no super-gadgets are to be seen, no incredibly lovely models fall madly in bed with Bourne, and the hero shows definite signs of physical vulnerability despite a very high level of training and competance. As someone who has trained in martial arts for over 10 years, unrealistic fight scenes are a pet peeve. The fights in "Bourne" are fast, nasty, and very realistic while still being entertaining for the layman. (And yes, taking a gun away from some idiot who is standing well within your striking radius without getting shot is definitely doable, though I had serious doubts until we tested it for ourselves with plastic dart guns in the dojo several years ago).

While not being perfect, "The Bourne Identity" is, simply put, several grades above the typical spy film. Being focused on an individual level rather than involving itself huge political ramifications lends it another layer of respectability rather than detracting from it as some comments have implied since it remains a human problem on a comprehensible scale. The mysteries that are left are bigger mysteries for Bourne than us, and I think should be viewed as intentional omissions rather than loose ends. The implausibilities are kept to a minimum and the realism to as high a level as possible while still being spectacular enough to meet the expectations of the genre.