The Bourne Identity (2002)

Directed by: Doug Liman | 119 minutes | action, drama, thriller, adventure | Actors: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Gabriel Mann, Walton Goggins, Josh Hamilton, Julia Stiles, Orso Maria Guerrini, Tim Dutton, Denis Braccini, Nicky Naude, David Selburg, Demetri Goritsas, Russell Levy, Anthony Green, Hubert Saint-Macary, David Bamber, Gwenaël Clause, Emanuel Booz, Philippe Durand, Vincent Franklin, Paulette Frantz, Thierry Ashanti, Roger Frost, David Gasman, Harry Gilbert, Delphine Lanson, William Cagnard, Kait Tenison, Joseph Beddelin, Rainer Werner, Katie Thynne

Intelligent spy thriller with a starring role for Matt Damon as the vexed Jason Bourne. Bourne’s character is based on three best-selling novels by writer Robert Ludlum, who wrote “The Bourne Identity,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” between 1980 and 1990. Not much of the plot of the books survives, though the central theme surrounding Bourne’s amnesia remains intact. The books mainly dealt with the battle between Bourne and the terrorist Carlos the Jackal, but for the film version the story has been made more contemporary and flashy. In any case, this movie version is a lot better than the ’80s miniseries with Richard Chamberlain.

Bourne is thrown ashore by the ship that fished him out of the Mediterranean, badly wounded. In the meantime, he has already shown glimpses of his abilities, including the fact that he speaks several languages ​​(Dutch!).

He carries nothing but a capsule with a Swiss bank account number (originally sewn into his thigh). He is just as much in the dark as the viewer is in the beginning, which helps build up tension. In the bank, a (silent) alarm sends a signal to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. An entire team, led by Alexander Conklin (Cooper), then deals with Bourne and his movements. Conklin regularly consults with his boss Abbott (Cox), and the two officers decide to activate three other assassins to eliminate Bourne. The interaction between Cooper and Cox is extremely strong. The looks of understanding they exchange and their words mainly show what they cannot or do not want to say out loud.

Meanwhile, Bourne tries with the help of the German Marie Kreutz (Potente) to find out why he was shot, by whom and where. He tracks down the African ex-dictator Wombosi (well portrayed by Akinnuoye-Agbaje) who is a nuisance to the CIA and seems to know more about what happened to Bourne.

As mentioned, Damon is very strong in his lead role – and he is perfectly cast as Bourne. His chemistry with Potente is substantial and their attraction and the reason they stay close together is convincing. In the supporting roles, in addition to the aforementioned actors, Owen also stands out as a taciturn, but very tenacious killer who continues to haunt Bourne. Only Stiles has a superfluous role and she also does not act very convincingly. As a result, it remains a mystery what exactly she is looking for in this film. The script is inventive and the action scenes are exciting. A chase scene, though cliché in such a type of film, is originally performed as Bourne and Marie try to flee in a Mini. It also helps that this segment is shot in the heart of Paris, although as a whole it loses out to the chase in ‘Ronin’ in the same city.

The fight scenes are not that stylized and look quite brutal and realistic as a result. Director Liman also has an eye for pictures, because in that regard the film is also well taken care of.

All in all, a strong thriller, which in itself formed a fairly well-rounded story. But given the success and two more book titles on the shelf, the sequel was almost inevitable; followed in 2004 by ‘The Bourne Supremacy’.