superb and well-done action movie

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2007)

Of course, movies about spies being hunted down are not all that uncommon, but "The Bourne Identity" and its two sequels, are some of the best ones that have appeared on the screen in years. "Identity" is the first, and in my opinion, the second-best out of them all. It has the most originality to it, makes the character of Jason Bourne seem the most clever and even the more vulnerable than he does in the two following films, and is overall, a nifty action movie.
Matt Damon was the perfect choice for playing Jason Bourne, a former assassin from a series of novels that failed in a mission, was injured, presumed dead, and later turned out alive only with amnesia. He soon finds out here's a target for assassination and must try and find the people he originally worked for, find out who he is, and why they are trying to kill him now. Damon is a very versatile actor and is very efficient at the role.
Franka Potente's character, while not a major development or powerful character, was a necessary character to keep the story rolling. The fact is, the movie would have been more boring and less compelling if Boune was completely by himself at first. Potente's character is developed enough just to make the point of her being there, not so that the audience will become attached to her. And I think that was the general idea when they were piecing together the screenplay.
Action sequences in "The Bourne Identity" were very clever and ingenious. Like the following two films, Bourne is realized as being like Rambo. He is able to use a variety of tools for his own defense. He can use a gun as well as his own fists, and if he needs a weapon, as he demonstrates in one scene, he can grab a pen and use it as effectively as if it were a knife. Of course, some of his kills were a bit unbelievable and humanly impossible, but then again, it's an action movie. Lots of them are like that and the audience is just to sit back and enjoy it. And the cool thing is that Bourne is, like Rambo, not just a random crazy killer, as we can assume he was before he got amnesia. He tries to spare his attackers whenever he can and only kills when it becomes clear to him, and the audience, that there is obviously no choice left to him.
But what I like most of all about "The Bourne Identity", as well as "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" is that it ends with several points unclear, making it obvious to the audience that there will be more to come. In each film, many questions are asked, some are answered, most are left unsolved. And in each entry, more are asked, more are answered, and even more are left. It's a representation of how Jason Bourne is thinking as he's put into these situations. And the audience effectively follows him.