Not quite as intense as Ludlum, but very good

Rating: 8/10 (5 August 2006)

A man with gunshot wounds in picked up by fishermen off of the coast of France and he has no memory of how he got there. Picking up clues one by one he gradually begins to see that is an elite espionage agent who is now being hunted by assassins.
Robert Ludlum's immensely complex and engrossing story had virtually little to no chance in making it to the movie screen without the sacrificing of many details and subplots. And Doug Liman here does just that and presents heavily altered story, but it is actually pretty darn good. This is not a typical Hollywood action movie and there is a strong focus on what Ludlum was so good at presenting in his books: the element of realism. Like the great action film "Ronin" this movie is both exciting and intelligent. It goes over-the-top as most stories do, but it does it in a way that is very refreshing from even good mainstream Hollywood action movies like "The Rock" and everyone's favorite action classic "Die Hard."
Matt Damon is almost flawless in the lead as Jason Bourne putting in a performance that seems simplistic only on the surface. Not quite as intense as Ludlum's original character, but very good by movie standards. 8/10
Rated PG-13 for violence and occasional profanity