Automatic Pilot set to "seasick"

Rating: 5/10 (3 August 2002)

I'm not sure what to make of this movie. Either the theater where I saw it had a terrible print, or this is one murky, jerky movie. It seemed to be going for a 60's/70's "French Connection" look, which may be vintage, but also looks out-of-date and hokey these days. I kinda felt seasick after watching it. The whole idea seemed to be to spend a bunch of money to make it look cheap. Didn't work for me.
Other problems -- Matt Damon's character was so underdrawn as to seem like a robot, making his search for who he was not all that interesting, and any relationship with Franka Potente's character just seem odd. Like, why would she drive him to Paris? Why would anyone? And why stick with him? There's nothing to fall for in an automaton!
The car chase was fun and fizzy, but the fall down the stairs was just silly. The haircut..? You gotta be kidding. Why did she have to cut and dye her hair when he didn't change his appearance at all. And Bourne's problem with kiddies? Didn't read for me for a minute.
If they wanted Bondesque spy stuff with a goofy twist, they forgot the twist. If they wanted something deeper, they went too far over the top with Bourne's unbelievable Spy Guy exploits.
Somebody put this one on automatic pilot, and then set the camera to seasick. Not great. Not great at all.