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Matt Damon,
Matt Damon,
Franka Potente,
more...
:
Doug Liman,
Doug Liman
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Universal Studios
: Action, Suspense/Thriller, Adventure, Espionage
: 119 min.
: English, French
: Spanish
see additional details...
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The best-selling suspense novel by late author Robert Ludlum comes to the screen for a second time, following a 1988 made-for-TV movie. Matt Damon stars as Jason Bourne, a barely alive amnesiac with a pair of bullet wounds in his back, pulled from the Mediterranean by Italian fishermen. Bourne's only clue to his own identity is a bank account number etched on a capsule implanted in his body. He quickly finds the Zurich bank where money, a gun, and a few identification documents await, but after he's pursued by security goons at the American consulate, Bourne realizes he can trust no one and offers a German gypsy named Marie (Franka Potente) ten thousand dollars for a ride to Paris. Encountering more professional killers bent on his destruction, Bourne discovers that he possesses a surprising degree of skill in combat, martial arts, and linguistics -- handy talents that clearly indicate his past includes work as a spy and assassin, but for whom? With Marie's reluctant help, Bourne edges closer to the truth, something CIA officials want concealed at all costs. The Bourne Identity co-stars Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Julia Stiles. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
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| just another...
by alexjb
February 23, 2005 - 2:17 AM PST
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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i thought that this film was just OK. matt damon does OK as the leading guy, though he's a little flat on the emotional scale, and i had a hard time actually caring about him.
the special edition has extra 'bookend' scenes, with a prologue from the directors talking about how after the destruction of the world trade center, noone wanted to make movies with explosions anymore, and how they re-cut the film fifty million times and re-shot stuff, and here, at last is the 'explosive' director's version. all indications that this is a studio film, made and re-made until it satisfied the test audiences, thusly stripping it of any soul or creativity.
sorry if i sound bitter, but the film is pretty tired and formula. i think there's one explosion in the whole thing, and it's totally gratuitous and inexplicable. some of the fight scenes are good, tho not really innovative.
damon's character has a chance encounter with 'maria', and of course they fall for one another and she decides to stick by him even after discovering that he's a killer. is anyone surprised? the big reveal scene towards the end yields *one* detail that everyone hasn't already figured out, and it's not even that deep.
i thought that the movie The Saint had better back-story on the character, showed better spy games and had better action sequences, plus much more clever versions of 'spies using their tricks to hide from them that trained em'. same for the more recent 'Spy Games'. there's even a mini car chase in Bourne (i love mini car chases in europe!), which falls flat in the dialogue immediately afterwards. Bourne's confrontation with his bosses is very reminiscent of Mission Impossible, but not even as engaging (which is saying a lot!).
if you LOVE this genre, see this for completeness sake, otherwise, you can assume that you've already seen everything that it has to offer in other movies. |
| damon...as an action actor
by psychodrama311
June 25, 2003 - 12:27 AM PDT
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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| reasons this movie works. chris cooper. franka potente. brian cox. and doug liman. also the emergence of matt damon as a leading man.. although the ending does feel a bit rushed.. the combination of action/ on the run thriller/ and suspenseful drama is a blessing to a almost run down genre. too many strong performances in this film to declare it anything but good. also heard that the other two books are in the process.. sounds great to me.. a very much welcomed trilogy.. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.73)
807 Votes
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