Surprisingly good. Spoilers...

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2002)

For all the p***ed-off children of the world, who crave good old-fashioned values like a decent script, decent characterisation, suspense, action, humour, style and the sheer exhilaration of watching cars being driven at inappropriate speeds through narrow streets, I give you, "The Bourne Identity". Sure, it's not perfect, but any action film in which no-one ever says, "I want this guy's ASS!" gets my vote. Similarly, it's worth pointing out that what dialogue there is is intelligent, unpatronising and lacking in the usual macho over-the-top profanities. As the amnesiac, confused, blank lead, Matt Damon, with his weirdly flat body and strange, upside-down mouth, is perfect. He's not a great actor, but he can look serious and confused and quietly determined. Which, in this film, is all he needs to do. Luckily, he is surrounded by a superb cast, including the wonderful star of "Run Lola Run", the authentically disheveled Chris Cooper (he looks like he's been wearing that shirt for weeks) the enigmatic Clive Owen (what a fine actor he is becoming - the next Bond, anyone? Or the next Bond villain?) and, of course, Brian Cox. Let's face it, if you're making this sort of film, Brian Cox is obligatory. There are smartly-shot fight sequences, a great car chase, a respectably sultry and tenuous love scene, and, my favourite, a snow-bound encounter with the aforementioned Owen, who says very little, but makes every word count. There's nothing desperately original on show here, but in a movie world where ever-more vacuous cretinous nonsense seems to be the order of the day, it's nice to find a pleasingly old-fashioned bit of action that allows the audience to leave the cinema smiling rather than demanding their money back and trying to get the nasty taste out of their mouths.