good movie on one hand, disappointing on the other

Rating: Null/10 (30 September 2002)

If I hadn't read Robert Ludlum's 'The Bourne Identity' book, I'd have loved this movie.
The story is ok, acting is good, and the action is excellent (I liked when Jason Bourne suddenly remembers he's good at martial arts).
At this point, I'd have given 8/10.
However, as I did read the books, I think the plot is too much different in the movie than in the books.
Why an african dictator instead of Carlos, the international professional killer ? why did Jason Bourne fail his mission ? In the books, seeing the dictator's children would not have stopped him killing the guy. Why is Marie's character so different than the one in the books ? (she's supposed to be a canadian economist, not a homeless german girl)
I thought that if the first Bourne movie was good, they might have done the 2 sequels as well, but now I wonder how they could achieve this, as the story is completely different.
I am really disappointed that Robert Ludlum (Executive Producer) gave his greenlight to this.
So I give this movie a 6.5/10 rating