Now if only they could make the next "James Bond" this good!

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2002)

I saw "The Bourne Identity" the second week after it opened, and I have to say I was really surprised by how good it was. It was more realistic than other movies of this type, and I like that it didn't go nuts with the violence and explosions. This movie proves that you can make a compelling and thrilling action movie without excessive use of pyrotechnics. Matt Damon (Who really looked like he could have been through Military training) gave a great and believable performance, as did Franka Potente (So much better for the part than a Denise Richards or Halle Berry say), Chris Cooper and that guy who played the sniper (Whom by the way, like Liev Schreiber in "Sum of all Fears", is an interesting enough character by themselves that you almost want to see an entire movie about their past adventures). I think the makers of the next James Bond and Mission Impossible should look at this movie and take notes. And no you don't need to have helicopters with giant saw blades, explosive bubble gum, goofy gadget inventors, or nuclear bombs with the nicely exposed wiring and red LED readouts that will be diffused at 00:00:01 to have an exciting action/spy movie. My only critique is that a few of the fight scenes moved so fast that it was hard to see who was kicking who's ass. But I suppose when I get this on DVD I'll be able to see it more clearly.