THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) / ** 1/2
Directed by Doug Liman. Screenplay by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron, based on the novel by Robert Ludlum. Starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper. Running time: 119 minutes. Rated AA for violent scenes. Reviewed on June 19th, 2002.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: His body riddled with bullets and his memory gone, a man (Damon) is fished out of the Atlantic Ocean by fishermen. A message buried beneath his skin directs the man to a Swiss bank where he learns his name may or may not be Jason Bourne. Soon, Bourne is being pursued across the continent by elite assassins hired by corrupt CIA agent Ted Conklin (Cooper), aided only by a fiery gypsy named Marie (Potente).
Review: Solid and exciting, only the absence of a meaty plot prevents "The Bourne Identity" from becoming a superior action movie. Unfortunately, what story there is serves as little more than a bridge between the action sequences, and an excuse to set them in a variety of European locales. A subplot about an African warlord, for example, is virtually a red herring, its true reason for being in the script having more to do with character motivation than the vagaries of international intrigue. It's fortunate, then, that the action scenes themselves deliver in spades, hitting all the familiar notes -- a car chase through crowded city streets, a stand-off between two equally skilled foes -- without ever becoming repetitive or boring. Liman has a good sense of when to hit the throttle full-tilt and when to shift things into low gear, making attractive use of his pan-European settings in the latter instances. This also provides the stars with a chance to inject more characterisation into "The Bourne Identity" than might otherwise be the case. Given his character's amnesiac condition, Damon is effectively dealing with a blank slate, but he is nonetheless able to create a hero with dark and dangerous undertones. Potente is very enjoyable as Marie, injecting the film with a strong and interesting female presence without distracting from the main character.
Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 32099 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 730009 X-RT-TitleID: 1114518 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4
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