Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Bourne to Run
Take one amnesiatic super secret agent, add one semi-goth German gypsy chick and turn them loose amid the wintery splender of Europe and you've got yourself one of the more original and entertaining espionage thrillers in recent memory. "The Bourne Identity" follows Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) after he is rescued by a fishing trawler in the Med. Bourne suffers from amnesia and the only link to his identity is a bank account in Switzerland. Soon, Bourne feels that he's being followed but he doesn't know why or by whom. On the run, he enlists the help of an unsuspecting young lady is a boxy subcompact (Franke Potente of "Run, Lola, Run" fame). The two crisscross the continent pursued by a series of ruthless types as Bourne begins to realize he has highly specialized talents but has no idea how he acquired them or why. The action is tense, the dialogue intelligent and the scenery splendid. The contrast of the film is somewhat dark and reflects well the title characters mood throughout. Reminiscent of Zinneman's film "Day of the Jackal", "The Bourne Identity" is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you guessing and gasping until the final frame.
Rating: - A skillfully made thriller
THE BOURNE IDENTITY is a tightly conceived, well directed, well photographed and particularly well acted suspense thriller loosely based on the Robert Ludlum best seller. True, many liberties have been taken from the novel, but when you take the time to note that Ludlum himself is the producer, then all arguments are off. Matt Damon and Franka Potente are terrific as the amnesiac agent and his 'only friend' who helps him escape a mad and endless chase from multiple groups of would be assassins. The characters are well developed - Damon gives one of his better perfomances, doing most of his stunt work himself while Potente continues to prove she is an actress worth watching. The supporting cast of such fine actors as Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, etc help propel this movie along. Outside of the French Connection this is one of the best car chases ever filmed - gratefully without the now-boring background of explosions and destruction. In all a fine film that is delivered on DVD with interesting and informative sidebars.
Rating:  - Loved it, Loved it, Loved it.
A man is found floating in the sea near death. He has been shot twice and has a laser implanted in his hip with the number of a Swiss bank account. He doesn't remember his name or who he is. Slowly however he discovers that he has skills. And oh boy does he have SKILLS.The gist of the movie is described by others on this page so I will avoid repetition. However the reasons I like this movie are as follows: Matt Damon as Jason Bourne is cool calm and collected. I never would have pegged him for an action star but he carries his role admirably. You feel his confusion, his surprise and his disgust when he finds out who he is. He is also the calmest and most professional spy/protagonist I have seen in a long time.
The charaters modus operandii is refreshingly different. He reads a map to escape from a building, and values precision and speed over haste and unnessesary force (read hails of bullets). The female lead (Franke Potente rocks) is a solid individual. Most Hollywood action female leads are as follows; Screaming Ninny, Brave Toughy, or Spunky Girl. Here we have none of that, she is afraid but overcomes it, listens to directions, accepts her mistakes and provides a refreshing counterpoint to Damons paranoid spy, sometimes solving problems more simply and clearly than he can. The action sequences are fast moving and original with no unneccesary gunshots. The car chase is physically possible. Humor is sweet and not overdone. Peripheral characters are fleshed out enough to be interesting but not too much to distract from the main story. In a nutshell. I found this movie treated me like an intelligent viewer rather that following a formula but without becoming "arty" and trying too hard.
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