How Mr. Ludlum Really Died!

Rating: 2/10 (15 June 2002)

It is evident that Robert Ludlum's passing came not by the natural aging process but from an advance screening of this adaptation of his most successful novel. Fortunately, he gets to enjoy the wonders of the afterlife and we are burdened by yet another movie that wastes our time and money and fills up our consciousness with it's marketing ad nauseum. Not every movie adaptation of a book will mimic the source entirely, but this doesn't even come close. The only common links that this movie has are the name Jason Bourne and that he has lost his memory of his life as an assassin. I don't even see how it can carry the title if it has nothing else of the meat of the story. Where is Carlos the assassin, Bourne's adversary whom Bourne was trained to go after? Where is Marie st. Jacques who was Bourne's shield and hostage and who at first tried turning in Bourne repeatedly before trying to help him learn who he really was? Where is David Webb who took on the persona of Jason Bourne to lure out Carlos? Clearly if you're a fan of the books don't expect this to be anything like them.
So, if you can't expect the movie to mimic the books then you can at least hope that the movie, in general is entertaining. Sadly, it's sluggish like molasses. And as i knew from the day they cast him, Matt Damon is no Jason Bourne let alone an international assassin. And the makeup department didn't do well enough to cover his pimples. But Damon is a big draw for the prepubescent girls who drool over his natural good looks, which seem to propel him to stardom since he has no natural acting ability. But you can't really blame him since the direction and dialogue really didn't seem to provide him any chances to prove himself as an actor. He had a moment or two where i began to believe he was in character. The movie should have moved you along swiftly but there seemed to be a lot of pot holes along the way.
Bourne was a cold-blooded killer and yet one who had vulnerabilities he couldn't quite keep repressed. Matt couldn't seem to bring out the cold or the warmth of the character. He just seemed lukewarm. I think the only redeeming quality of the movie was that it closed any doors to a sequel. But this is Hollywood, they'll find any way to make a sequel no matter how bad the first, right Mr. Lucas?