The Bourne Identity

Review by Clint Morris

Click here for exclusive Matt Damon Interview

If the C.I.A can believe Jason Bourne, the titular character in The Bourne Identity, is a man of a million faces and a headliner among super-spies, we as the audience can certainly suspend disbelief for a while and swallow pint-sized Matt Damon as a cunning, intelligent, physically-dashing action hero.

And believe it we do, clenching our fists and tapping our legs, hoping our latest big screen 'Fugitive' outsmarts the enemy and slides into the safe zone.

Found floating in the sea by fisherman and with several bullet holes in his back, a mysterious man (Damon) awakens to the fact that he's obviously someone of importance.

First discovering he has some slick fight moves, as he drops two men without a sweat, he ends up at a safety deposit box. Inside are five passports, a squillion dollars and a gun. The most prominent name on the goods is ‘Jason Bourne’, and so the lad takes that tag.

Realising that he's the target of authorities everywhere, he pays a young woman (Franka Potente) the sumly endowment of $20,000 for a trip to Paris, where he believes he resides.

There he finds wild gunmen waiting for him, and pretty soon there's nowhere to hide. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, an unprincipled Central Intelligence thug (Chris Cooper) tracks the whereabouts of his "hit", ultimately preparing for their face-to-face rendezvous.

This is the second time they've made The Bourne Identity into a film. The first was a miniscule TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain. Thankfully, They've beefed up the stakes, budget and cast for this larger-than-life theatrical spin.

While the film is great fun, it's also a bit of a no-brainer with many of the plot inconsistencies sticking out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, there are bucket loads of adrenalin-pumping action scenes, gruelling tension and 007-esque action to make up for the goofiness.

Whilst Matt Damon would be far from anyone's choice as the lead, he pulls it off magnificently, combining a performance of vigour and likeability.

As his sidekick, Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) also gets a moment to shine, sharing in nearly as many scenes as her American cohort. The underrated Chris Cooper, highly memorable from John Sayle's Lone Star”, is also given some sizeable screen time to excel as the film's token undercover evil.

Director Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) has crafted a slick, action-packed spy-thriller with enough car chases, fistfights, gunfire, rooftop escapes and explosions to keep even the pickiest modern day action-suspense lover happy.

This month, it gets no better than The Bourne Identity.

3.5 out of 5

The Bourne Identity
Australian release: Thursday September 26st (advance screenings Father's Day: 1st Sept)
Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Clive Owen, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles.
Director: Doug Liman.
Website: Click here

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