The Bourne Series-Part 1:Identity.

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2016)

Despite heard about them for years,I for some reason have never got round to taking a look at the "Bourne" movie series.Learning recently that Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones are appearing in the 5th offering,and seeing a fellow IMDber talk about co-star Franka Potente's film Run Lola Run,I decided that it was time to identify the series.
The plot:
Pulled from the ocean with bullets in his back,a man finds himself unable to remember anything,including his name. Landing in Switzerland,the man finds that he has a series of remarkable skills,from tying complex knots to combat skills.Getting a safe deposit box number from one of the bullets,the man goes to a Swiss bank and finds a box filled with cash,guns and passports,one of which has the name "Jason Bourne." Going to the US embassy,Bourne is taken aback,when guards and police start attacking him,who appear to know his "missing" identity.
View on the film:
Put together from a "struggling" production, (from the studio wanting bigger bangs for their bucks,to the entire,told within flashback outline being cut mid-production) director Doug Liman and cinematographer Oliver Wood impressively hit blockbuster combat scenes with a murky,European "Spiv" atmosphere. Keeping plot details away from Wood in order to bring an urgent sense of surprise to the movie,Liman surrounds Bourne and Marie with an enticing mood of dread and doubt,as smoothly spun tracking shots corner Bourne and Marie in side streets where lingering over the shoulder shots make everyone look like a possible informant. Along with the spy mystery,Linman rolls out short,sharp shocks of gripping action scenes,which turn from a thrilling car chase to a twitching with anxiety stakeout.
Keeping the bare bones of Robert Ludlum's novel,the screenplay by Tony Gilroy & W. Blake Herron keep exposition down to a minimum,in order for the viewer to feel the full reverb of the clues Bourne uncovers on his past. Sending Bourne and Marie on the run,the writers brilliantly challenge the duo with constant fears of spivs hiding in the shadow,and sharp-shooting spies and hit men smashing into Bourne's clean slate identity.
Sent on the run again, Franka Potente (who would reunite with CIA "tech" Walton Goggins in the extraordinary TV series The Shield) gives a terrific performance as Maire,who despite clearly being caught in the midst of something she has no wish to be in,is given a punchy,rebellious edge by Marie. Joined by a wry Brian Cox and a frosty Clive Owen,Matt Damon gives an excellent performance as Bourne,thanks to Damon punching Bourne with nervous suspense over what he will find about his past,as a new series is Bourne.