Better than the last 10 Bond movies

Rating: 7/10 (26 June 2002)

*Possible Unimportant Spoilers*
In this summer of the "Good Will Hunting" boys becoming spies, Matt Damon's venture here as Jason Bourne is far superior to Ben Affleck's turn as Jack Ryan in "The Sum of all Fears". Damon even compares favorably to the last few James Bonds (although this could be due to the Bond "formula" getting tired).
Damon is a different kind of spy. Not since Connery has Bond been as dangerous as Jason Bourne. He is made all the more dangerous by the fact that he has amnesia. He doesn't know how or why he knows how to do martial arts or how to assess possible escape routes when entering a new place, he just "does it" like reading or writing.
And it's this "unknown" element which makes "The Bourne Identity" so intriguing. How do we even know we should be on Bourne's side? We know as little about him for the first part of the movie as he does, and yet there we are watching him on as he thrashes two Parisian policemen in a park or tears through a U.S. embassy. Should we be hoping he escapes or gets captured? I guess for the sake of entertainment we want him to escape or else it would be a rather short movie.
The supporting players don't particularly shine or stand out here. Chris Cooper makes a decent adversary for Bourne, although it would have been more satisfying to see a bigger "name" actor in this part. Franka Potente is simply there as an ally/love interest for Damon, her part could have been played by just about anyone. Julia Stiles is Julia Stiles, unlikable as always. She's only on screen for about 10 minutes total (thankfully), and Cooper's character seems as dismissive of her character as I am of her as an actress.
Let me stop being negative though because I did very much enjoy this film. The fight scenes are well done, if short (save for one lengthy, brutal encounter in Bourne's apartment) and there is a fantastic car chase. The movie takes place almost entirely in Paris which, of course, makes for some beautiful shots of the city. I may be the only one that says this, but I think "The Bourne Identity" stands up rather well when compared to this summer's other big man-on-the-run picture, "Minority Report". Both received 7's out of 10 from me.