3 stars (out of 4)

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2002)

A man (Matt Damon) is found floating in the ocean, miles from shore, by the men of a fishing boat. He is presumed dead, but, quite surprisingly, he is alive. Before he regains consciousness, the ship's doctor sees two bullet wounds on his back, and removes the bullets. He also finds another scar that hides a small object which projects some numbers and letters.
After the man regains consciousness, he says that he doesn't remember who he is, how he was shot, or how he ended up floating in the ocean. He recovers physically, but still has no idea who he is.
After he goes ashore in southern France, he uses the clue of the numbers and letters that were embedded in his body to start to learn more about who he is, including that his name might be Jason Bourne. He meets Marie (Franka Potente), who helps him, which is good since it seems that many people would like to see him dead.
Meanwhile, we see CIA agent Conklin (Chris Cooper), who is trying to clean up after an assassination that was planned but never happened, by an agent who has disappeared.
The plot is more involved than this, to the point where I wasn't 100% sure that I followed everything. There are some things that don't make sense and others that seem a bit unlikely, but it makes *enough* sense to avoid distracting you from the action scenes, which are the reason this movie exists, and which work *very* well. That you don't know exactly what's going on, especially earlier in the film, keeps the tension effectively high. And the acting and the special effects, like the story, are good enough to avoid distracting you.
Unlike "XXX," this film is definitely recommended if you're looking for an entertaining action film.
Seen on 8/23/2002.