The Bourne Identity (2002)

Originally Reviewed

Sunday June 11, 2006

Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne, a man pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea by a fishing boat, he wakes up with amnesia, a couple bullet holes in his back and a laser pointer with a Swiss bank account number in his hip. Jason doesn't know where he is, who he is or how he can do half the things he appears capable of doing, such as beating the crap out of someone in seconds and speak multiple languages fluently.

Jason decides to try and piece together his past, starting with the only piece of info he has... the bank account number. At the bank he receives a box filled with different currencies, a gun, and a half a dozen or more passports all with his picture but with different names and identities. He assumes the name on his American passport of Jason Bourne and discovers he lives in Paris, everything else is still a mystery.

As it turns out Jason Bourne was part of a governmental secret agency named Tread Stone, in which a few extraordinary talented assassins were sent out on missions to eliminate some vital targets. One of those missions was assigned to Bourne, but it was never completed and he seemed to drop off the face of the earth, at least that is what the head of Tread Stone believed.  When Bourne went to the bank and accessed the account, Tread Stone now knew him to still be alive and they needed to dispose of him before the existence of him, the agency, and the mission was discovered, so they reactivate their top assassins to take Bourne out.

Almost immediately Bourne is tracked down as he heads inside the US embassy, but he manages to escape the police and find company with a young woman named Marie who reluctantly agrees to drive him to Paris for $20,000. On the trip to Paris, Bourne opens up to Marie and discloses what has occurred over the past few days and how he doesn't know who he is or remember anything about his past. Little does Marie know that her life is going to become very intense over the next few days, as she begins to get sucked into the hunt for Bourne and become a target herself.

The Bourne Identity is an awesome film, with some extremely entertaining action scenes and one of the best car chase scenes that I have seen in a long time. There is one scene near the end of the film where Bourne jumps off a staircase on top of a corpse and starts shooting guys on the way down, using the body to break his fall and shield him from return gunfire, that's one example of some of the fast paced scenes in the film.  The Bourne Identity offers intense action in unison with a gripping storyline which never grows dull. Matt Damon gives a flawless performance and breaks through as a new action hero, trying to get his life back. Definitely one of the best action films I have seen in a long time.

The film is based upon a series of novels, whether or not it follows the books, it still offers something new and intense to genre, bringing back some energy into the thriller genre without the need of big budget special effects. One thing I have never been able to figure out is if Bourne is some genetically engineered soldier or simply a one highly gifted and rigorously trained guy? This may have been answered in the second film, but it has been a while since I have seen it.  In the end, The Bourne Identity is a must see, and Damon seals the deal as a new great actor, too bad some of that talent didn't rub off on his old buddy Ben Affleck! 

9/10