Suspend Your Disbelief and Enjoy

Rating: 8/10 (20 September 2003)

As is obvious with any thriller, you need to leave your analytical mind aside while watching this movie. Not that it's specifically too far out, but it's best enjoyed for what it is: an entertaining thriller.
In fact, some things feel quite realistic in the movie. For instance, Matt Damon's character isn't unidimensional and rings quite true for what he's supposed to be. That part was quite refreshing.
The plot is perhaps not as complex as one might expect from a movie based on a novel (we learn most of what we need pretty early on), but it works out right in terms of tension and direction.
Similarities with "No Way Out" (starring Kevin Costner) have to do mostly with this type of tension. And the type of "bad guys" found in both movies.
An interesting thing about the movie is that some of the ancillary characters (such as the fishermen at the beginning) are portrayed in a somewhat subtle light (for such a manichean plot).