A man is discovered floating in the Mediterranean, with two bullets in his back, details of a Swiss bank account surgically implanted in his hip, and absolutely no memory of who he is or how he ended up in such a state. So he goes to the bank, and finds a safety deposit box containing his own passport (alongside various fakes), as well as a pile of cash and a gun - and before you can say '007', he finds himself being pursued through Europe by police, agents and professional killers, as he unravels the secrets of his identity and his connection to an assassination plot involving the CIA and an exiled African leader.
Director Doug Liman's previous films (Swingers and Go) have been strictly indie affairs, so one might expect his take on the theme of amnesia to involve some subtlety. Yet The Bourne Identity is an entirely conventional action thriller - influenced far more by The Long Kiss Goodnight than by Amateur or Memento. Its bone-crunching fight scenes and the excellent Parisian chase sequence (in a mini!) move along at a cracking pace, barely leaving filmgoers time to notice that there are more holes in the plot than in the protagonist's bullet-riddled back.
The lead role calls for a non-entity, so Matt Damon is ideal. Franka Potente, cast, as in Run Lola Run, as a European free spirit, carries it off with dignity, despite the preposterousness of her character's relationship with the ultraviolent protagonist. The Bourne Identity will probably be remembered more for being the first film to be granted the new 12A classification than for much else. It will not change your life, although it may divert you for a few hours if it's raining outside.
Director Doug Liman's previous films (Swingers and Go) have been strictly indie affairs, so one might expect his take on the theme of amnesia to involve some subtlety. Yet The Bourne Identity is an entirely conventional action thriller - influenced far more by The Long Kiss Goodnight than by Amateur or Memento. Its bone-crunching fight scenes and the excellent Parisian chase sequence (in a mini!) move along at a cracking pace, barely leaving filmgoers time to notice that there are more holes in the plot than in the protagonist's bullet-riddled back.
The lead role calls for a non-entity, so Matt Damon is ideal. Franka Potente, cast, as in Run Lola Run, as a European free spirit, carries it off with dignity, despite the preposterousness of her character's relationship with the ultraviolent protagonist. The Bourne Identity will probably be remembered more for being the first film to be granted the new 12A classification than for much else. It will not change your life, although it may divert you for a few hours if it's raining outside.