The Bourne Identity Starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente Directed by Doug Liman Rated PG-13 for violence and some language *** out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: A-

Theatrical Release: June 14, 2002

Running time: 113 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Perhaps what impressed me most about "The Bourne Identity," directed by Doug Liman ("Go" 1999, "Swingers" 1996), was its constant sense of realism amidst a fictional plot, and outrageous fight and stunt sequences. The action played out with such aggression that we didn't have time to not believe it. It propelled us through the movie like a wave, constantly pushing us forward on its crest. We never sunk under or got left behind to question what we saw. The momentum and intrigue of the story kept us from doing so.

The story surrounded a man known as Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon, who was found floating in the sea with two bullet holes in his back. He couldn't remember who he was, and he tried to piece together various clues, such as why a bank code had been implanted in his back. As he did so, trained assassins tried to kill him, and his only help came in the form of a broke traveler named Marie (Franka Potente, "Run Lola Run," 1998) whom he paid to aid him in one of his getaways. The two developed feelings for one another, and soon Marie was regarded as an accomplice.

The story began with an intensity that didn't let up for most of the movie. The fight and chase scenes were well choreographed and aggressive, giving the film a sense of urgency. Perhaps this was one of its flaws as well. The fight scenes didn't build on one another enough, and the wave of action never seemed to swell to the point I'd wished it had. In fact, the better fight scenes happened earlier in the movie. This may have acted to reduce the film's momentum a little, but the climax was in no way disappointing, and the film maintained its flow regardless.

"The Bourne Identity" is a unique action film in the sense that it never allowed itself to become completely contrived fiction without keeping a foothold on reality. It didn't try to mimic movies like James Bond, which are highly fictional films that are successful because we fully accept them as such, and they are unique in their own right. The filmmakers seemed conscious of this throughout, and they did not let the story become too fantastical without providing moments where they attempted to focus on the reality of the situation that the characters were in. An example of this came early in the film when Marie became sick to her stomach after she saw a woman who had been shot in the head. Moments like this can pull the audience back into a film, because this type of reaction is one that they can better relate to, since it is the type of reaction that they would expect to actually happen in real life. Franka Potente did a good job conveying these realistic reactions to uncommon extremely unnerving situations.

Matt Damon delivered a convincing performance as the memory deprived assassin Bourne. His character was not interesting enough to draw the audience as close to the film as he could have been, but the film makes up for it with highly enjoyable action sequences. Although it lacked the drama and character attachment of some films like it, such as "The Fugitive" (1993), "The Bourne Identity" was an enjoyable film with an interesting premise, and it didn't fail to satisfy in the end.

"The Bourne Identity" Review written June 16, 2002, CTF.