Engaging enough for the duration

Rating: Null/10 (14 October 2004)

Despite what it thinks of itself, Bourne Identity is an old fashioned spy thriller with a slight psychological overtone and a substantial helping of action.
The film picks up out on a rough sea and a fishing boat which spots a body floating in the choppy water. On recovering the man, the crew find out he's alive and lay him out to rest. The doctor (Presumably) removes 2 bullets from the man's back and a strange lazer device from his neck/head. On waking, the man realises he has absolutely no idea who he is and his only clue is the lazer device. On docking, he begins to realize he has skills beyond what most people do, with a heightened level of physique and instinct.
Bourne Identity sees the man, Jason Bourne, set out to discover his identity and to find out what happened to him aided and abetted by Marie, a drifter he encounters at the American Embassy in Switzerland.
Matt Damon puts in a pretty good turn as Bourne, and looks suitably confused by the general situation and the events going on around him, and Franka Potente is reasonable as Marie - certainly convincing enough for the purposes of this type of film.
The action is pretty exciting in general, but it suffers from the 'God' syndrome. As Bourne himself is so damn skilled, he never seems in danger at all so it's not as thrilling as it should be.
The plot comes thick and fast and never lets up, but the problem is there are a few aspects which are decidedly confusing and the ending feels a bit nicey nicey and hollow.
It's a decent enough ride but ultimately I didn't get much out of it.