The Bourne Identity

Movie Name: The Bourne Identity
Year of Release: 2002

Director: Doug Liman

Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Clive Owen, Gabriel Mann, Julia Stiles, Walton Goggins, Josh Hamilton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tim Dutton

Genre: Action, Mystery, Thriller

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis:

Following his indie endeavors which resulted in "Swingers" and "Go", director tackled his first big budget feature with "The Bourne Identity". An adaptation of the Robert Ludlum book, and with a crackling screenplay from Tony Gilroy (who co-wrote it with William Blake Herron, and was subsequently involved in the sequels), the film follows the story of young secret agent, Jason Bourne. When we first see him, he's salvaged from the high seas by a crew of fishermen, and we realize that he has amnesia. Bourne remembers flashes of events, but doesn't recall much about his life and how he found himself at sea. He soon finds himself in Switzerland where he uncovers a safety deposit box with a lot of different identities and a lot of money. With the help of a young german woman by the name of Marie, he hitches a ride to Paris, in hopes of unearthing who he is, and understanding of how he knows the skills he has. Hot on his trail are his former peers and the agency responsible for his training.
Doug Liman has by now established himself as a director capable of taking routinely and formula driven films and making them into something compelling, dynamic and very watchable. His path into big budget features started precisely with "The Bourne Identity", which was his first big hit (though it suffered from some shooting issues). The film combines a smartly written plot, with sufficient questions thrown around, with a central character who is and feels imminently real, much of that due to Matt Damon's minimal performance. Both Damon and Franka Potente, both create characters that feel out of place everywhere they go, and that adds an extra air of despair (they're a non criminal "Bonnie and Clyde") and verisimilitude to the situations they find themselves in. It's a film that takes a more realistic approach to the spy thriller (as opposed to the James Bond films that at the time were reaching their cartoon-style apotheosis), from the well choreographed fight scenes, to the chase scenes through Paris. A very good action film always worth revisiting.