Above Average Thriller!

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2003)

**As always, you're in danger of plot spoilers reading beyond this!**
Jason Bourne is really, really confused. He regains consciousness on a ship at sea with a stranger performing impromptu surgery on him. With no memory of how he'd gotten there, nor who he is, he tries to retrace his life and figure things out. How surprising, then, to find out that there is someone or someones trying to kill him...and he has astounding self-defense skills he didn't know he had.
This is the premise of "The Bourne Identity". Matt Damon's nuanced and sensitive performance of Jason Bourne keeps this thriller from sinking into just another entry in that genre. When he makes startling discoveries about his past identity, he actually shows it! *gasp!* A sensitive, caring assassin? Who'da thunk it? As the plot barrels forward with stunning stunts and excellent acting from Damon and his reluctant sidekick, the always phenomenal Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), "The Bourne Identity" is well worth viewing!