Badly wounded and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is pulled out of the Mediterranean by fishermen, and is able to recall neither who he is nor what happened to him. His only clue to his identity is the number of a Swiss bank account which has been etched into a device implanted in his body. Following the lead to Zurich, he discovers money, passports and a gun waiting for him, but also earns the attention of the security services and has to leave in a hurry. He then persuades a young woman named Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) to drive him to Paris, where he hopes to find out his true identity and discover the reason why the CIA are taking such an interest in him. Directed by Doug Liman ('Swingers', 'Go').
R**S
A tense thrill-ride with superb action sequences
THE BOURNE IDENTITY is a tense thrill-ride anchored by Matt Damon's strong central performance as a amnesiac assassin in search of who he is. It also kickstarted the Bourne series, which raised the bar for intelligent action films. There's not too much need to go into plot details, except that Jason Bourne is a former CIA-trained assassin who is nearly killed when a job goes south. He wakes up with no memory of what happened before and sets off on a mission to find out who he is and why he is being hunted. One aspect I really liked was the balance between action and drama. The action scenes are quite relentless, but the film also allows a relationship to be developed between Matt Damon's Bourne and Marie (Franka Potente), a woman he meets practically by chance. They each have their own somewhat similar problems, and they work together to try and fix them. Normally these types of movies just focus on the protagonist, but here the audience is also exposed and given insight into the other side: the people who are trying to bring Bourne back in. Although some suspension of disbelief is required, the movie does feel grounded in reality, especially considering the recent glut of leaks regarding the NSA. In my opinion, it was nice to see the inner workings of intelligence agencies, and to top it off, a smattering of government intrigue as well. I thought the plotting was very solid, and the performances across the board were very good. The only weak link I found was Julia Stiles as Nicolette, a Paris-based CIA asset who runs a safe house. I thought her role was slightly underwritten, and her performance wasn't as good as the rest of the cast. Moving on, the technical aspects of the film were all excellent. I thought that the action sequences were well-filmed and easy to follow in a geographical sense. The fights were quite intense and well-choreographed as well. Matt Damon makes for a good action star, and this movie is proof of that. The score was also quite good, and helped maintain tension throughout the nearly two-hour running time. All in all, I thought that this was an excellent action film that can hold its own against similar series, like James Bond (which this clearly was intended as). Highly recommended for fans of action films and thrillers. You won't be disappointed
M**7
Good movie
Will watch the rest of the series
C**A
Excellent Action!!
I absolutely loved The Bourne Identity along with all the other "Bourne movies" after.. There was so much action & drama to these movies & I love that. I have always been someone who'd rather watch a movie like this than a romance or musical..Note..... There is lot of fighting/violence in these movies.. I'm a female who's never minded it..There isn't much swearing/cursing in the movies but they DO take the Lord's Name/blapheme, which I do not like.. I'm am old fashioned girl & grew up with my beliefs..I love Matt Damon as an actor & the acting was wonderful in the movies! I loved the car/chasing scenes (could watch them over again)Overall the movies are excellent & I watched them all one after another in 5 days, could wait to get through them all!Definitely worth watching, excellent movies! A+FWI....... The Bourne Legacy... # 4 See this movie page for my review.....
B**N
Greatest Spy Action Movie Of All Time
The Bourne Identity delivers on every level: old school Cold War Euro spy vs. spy, action that jumps out off the screen, genuine romance that is not the cliche Bond misogyny, and a beautiful, rich visual noir visual style that we do not see anymore... more authentic and visually real than any John Wick attempt. As a writer Robert Ludlum came up with a premise that has genuine reason and purpose for the action that unfolds. Director Doug Liman nails the right blend of hand-held indie and classic cinema style. Leads Matt Damon and Franka Potente deliver stellar performances as strangers thrown together by circumstance that discover and present the story in a way that feels real-time and fresh. AND the greatest car chase scene ever orchestrated for film ...yes better than Bullet, Ronin, all the Bond films and every John Wick installment. This is the kind of rare, exceptional cinema experience that makes me wish I had amnesia and could watch for the very first time The Bourne Identity.
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