A Damn near perfect action movie

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2007)

If you're ever wondering what action movie to take your girlfriend to, this is it. a thinking man's thriller with a solid human story at it's core. it's the best bits of James Bond meets the good stuff out of Chick Flicks.
So what's it about? Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, in what was one of his first high profile roles since Good Will Hunting) is found floating at sea shot twice. he has no memory of who he is, but it turns out he's rather handy and snapping wrists and making daring escapes. with the help of nice young German girl, (played by the eminently lovable and very sexy Franka Potente) he finds out he's a super bad ass living weapon cum CIA agent, part of a black bag hit squad. and his bosses aren't too keen on him staying out of the cold.
and so Bourne is pursued by everyone in Europe (shot on stunning location) from bumbling security guards, cops, marines and his ex colleagues. the action scenes are great: a mix of Hitchcock-esquire escapes, Italian job type car chases and brutal fist fights. these action scenes are helped by director Dough Liman's skill at making us care about this guy: he's so nice. the whole story is Bourne becoming human, that it wasn't what he did, but who he is that defines him.
As Bourne ninjas his way towards a final showdown with his ex boss (played by the snarling Chris Cooper) we get to know him better, he lets us in. rather than some cocky womanizer, this is a guy who hates killing, hates fighting, yet is flawless at it. and therein lies Bourne's superiority over James Bond as a character: he's human, we relate to him, and want him to win not because he's cool, but because he rather just rent out bicycles with his Teutonic girlfriend. he never enjoys what he does, and this humanity allows us to sympathize.
consider the whole film a journey from the darkness to the light.