Plot
Discovered floating in the Meditteranean with a couple of bullets in his back by a passing fishing boat, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has no idea who he is or why the details of a Swiss bank account would have been surgically inserted under his skin. The mystery deepens when he travels to Geneva and discovers his security box is packed with D.I.Y. James Bond accessories and a mountain of money. Paying $20,000 for a no questions lift to Paris with a rootless European, Bourne slowly begins to piece together his background. Now all he has to do is stay alive.
Analysis Created from the 1980 Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, The Bourne Identity follows the story of a young man who is pulled from the Meditteranean sea by a group of passing fishermen only to discover that he has absolutly no recolection as to the meaning of his pridicament. Not only does he not remember how or why he was adrift at sea, but even his own name escapes his consciousness and the discovery of two fresh bullet holes in his back only increases the mystery. We are then taken on a journey of discovery that takes our mystery man into the dark and silent worod of the CIA.
Doug Liman of 'Go' fame handled the direction of this style cocktail, that melds action with drama and stirs in a little bit of a thriller as well. Liman is relativley new to the business, only having directed around four films uptill this one, so just how well did he fair? Well not half bad to be honest. The story wasn't all that original with a number of movies already covering the 'I've lost my memory, who the F*** am I' type story, but it was the execution that made this more than just another wannabe. The characters were beliverble and the perilous situations that they found themselves in actually left me caring about what their fait would be. The action scenes were excellent with special mention going to the mini chase around the streets of Paris that gave more than a passing nod in the direction of 'The Italian Job'.
Matt Damon impressed me as the lost sole who fights for the recovery of his identity. You couldn't take fresh faced Damon seriously if he was to play an all out action hero (except maybe James Bond but nationality could be a problem), but in roles like this and the one he took in 'Oceans Eleven', where a balance of solid plot and high impact action are required, he always manages to pull of a great performance. It was nice to see British boy Clive Owen show his face with the word on the street being that this man can do no wrong. Expect to see him holding more leading roles in up coming movies even if he was a little underused this time around.
Key Area |
Rating (out of 5)
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Action
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Thrills/
Tension
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Violence/
Gore
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Bare Flesh
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NONE
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Matt looks too young to know anything about the ladies. Maybe when his voice breaks.
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Plot
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Not the most inspired story but still strong enough to keep you watching until the final credits. Unlike other films of this type, you don't have to be glued to the screen to ensure you don't miss out on any one of the hundreds of plot twists that seem to be all the rage. Easy listening for the eye's.
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Verdict
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Facts, figures and boobs
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When Jason is hanging from the fire escape at the embassy he looks down to see where to put his feet on the narrow ledge. There are already two shoe prints in the snow right where he places his feet. |
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Just before the car chase, we see a police car pull up behind the Mini. When the chase starts, the police car is gone |
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Jason is awakened by the Swiss police, and one of the policemen pokes his nightstick into Jason's chest. When Jason grabs the nightstick, it bends in his hand. |
4. |
In the beginning of the film Jason Bourne is looking in the mirror and says, "Vertel me wie ik ben! Zeg me godverdomme wie ik ben?" It's Dutch, and means, "Tell me who I am! Goddamnit tell me who I am." |
What other people thought of this film: - |
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