Tired, dull, and totally predictable

Rating: 4/10 (11 May 2003)

It's really sad when you see a potentially good filmmaker go Hollyweed. Here Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) proves he's no smarter than the average actor out to make a buck, and Matt Damon, who's made mostly intelligent choices in his career, joins him. What's really sad is how they've seemed to convince themselves they've made something 'different' instead of just the usual Hollyweed tripe. This is tired, trite, predictable stuff. No surprises at all. But then this was written by a man who specializes in tired, badly written novels. The Stephen King of spy thrillers. There are plot holes you could drive the proverbial Mack truck through, as usual. And the 'action' sequences are just plain dull and predictable. On a brighter note, their are good performances from Franka Potente (Run, Lola, Run), and the always reliable Chris Cooper and Brian Cox. Otherwise this is a 2 hour time-killer. Something you will quickly forget you've ever seen.