Penultimate Spy/Action/Testosterone Flick...

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2014)

This review for latecomers to the movie, most likely younger viewers who consider anything prior to 2010 to be "dark ages." Wrong. Within its niche (loosely, action/spy/amnesia) it may end up being one of the greatest ever, watchable and entertaining over and over...
I think I have seen this more than 10 times, putting it up there with Fistful of Dollars and Godfather. The pedigree is astonishing. Ludlum was not "respected" in his lifetime but he sure sold a lot of books. Interestingly, Bourne had ALREADY emerged as the most popular of his works, long before the film adaption was attempted. While not breakthrough -- amnesia stories have been done to death, especially in the 1940s -- the combination of the memory issue and the assassin twist essentially put the story over the top. There were written sequels (rare for Ludlum) and posthumous attempts to revive the character in new novels (very rare!).
This 2002 film was serendipity. Gilroy, a veteran, did one of the leanest adaptations ever. His writing is genius. The film moves through progressive action arcs so eloquently the viewer does not even realize what is happening. Consider the arc where the Bourne character takes out Clive Owen's counter-assassin. It's almost brusque. On the news that the dog is not responding, Bourne goes into action like a tiny Terminator. Not a second of screen time is wasted. How many films can make the same claim? Damon is an excellent actor but the argument can be made that he did too good a job with Bourne (hence his refusal to appear in the last film). Arguably he was too young for the part "as written" but props to director Liman for going with him anyway. That decision made film history.
The supporting cast is brilliant. Cooper and Cox as supporting characters? R U Kidding me? Wow.
The criticism can be made (not by me, but it can be made) that Potente does not inject enough feminine energy (she mainly reacts, never acts) which probably explains the over-emphasis on the Pam Landy character in the two sequels. Which works well. But the truth is, this is a man's action film, and one of the best ever, so the director had latitude.
And poor Clive Owen. In of the great ironies of cinema, his action scene became a metaphor for his A-list career. At the time, the common wisdom was that he was "the next big thing." Didn't happen.
Highly recommended. The sequel is serviceable but not a standout. The final part of the trilogy is satisfying but lacks magic. Any future films without Damon are to be scrupulously avoided.