Magnificent

Rating: 9/10 (14 February 2007)

Much like another person's comments, I heard good things about it when it was on the cinema but didn't go and see it. That was a mistake.
By far, this is a magnificent spy-thriller. Matt Damon can be slightly hit and miss on occasion, but was perfectly cast as was the German chic who played Marie (his companion). She was terrific.
The story has a good level of detail and complexity without getting too bogged down in itself - a common problem for many recent US films in this genre.
There was more realism in this film as well. The hero was not invincible. He was injured at several points and his battle scars didn't magically disappear two minutes later. On a more subtle level: I noticed that the weather was terrible the whole way through. It was overcast, snowing, wet, you name it: just about anything other than sunny. For some reason, I liked that a lot. It gave a good atmosphere and realism to the film and gave us a break from all other actions films shot in europe under perfect, sunny weather. Small point, big difference. Also, I liked the fact that they didn't go overboard with product placement, unless Mini approached them to promote a car they made in the late 70s.
The lack of gadgetry was fine by me. Leave that to Bond. Bourne is more realistic and doesn't need the ability to fire a missile out of his wrist watch to get himself out of a fix. In fact, you'll notice throughout the film that if he acquires someone else's gun, he gets rid of it relatively quickly. Again, more realistic.
The supporting cast were great without being too over stated. Chris Cooper probably overacted his part to some degree, but that was not a major sticking point.
All in all, a very well made spy film with a good balance between action and plot.
For those who like a bit of cinema trivia, the car chase scene in Paris was shot several months after the film was finished. The producer and director were not happy with the car chase scene in the original cut, so they went back to Paris with key cast members and filmed it again. See if you can spot whether changes, hair length changes and so on during that scene!
Followed by a sequel that didn't quite reach the same heights, but was good nonetheless and I'm looking forward to ultimatum.