An Action Thriller, with Intelligence

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2009)

The Bourne Identity, the reason why the Bond series had to change, and for that Bourne needs to be respected. I was hostile to this film when it first came out, thinking it was going to be no more then the American trying to make their own version of Bond, much like xXx released in the same year: but I so wrong.
The Bourne Identity has a simple premise, an American assassin, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), has been shot and has amnesia. He is found by French fishermen and he goes on a quest to discover his identity. His bosses at the CIA believed he had died and thought his mission was a failure. They were are shocked to see he shows up in Zurich and they try to hunt Bourne down. Bourne is shocked to see he has a number of passports, thousands of dollars in cash, and a gun in a Swiss bank security box. He discovery he has a nack for language, fluent in German and French, physically fit and can fight without even thinking. He acts like a spy without him knowing it, also checking for exits and threats. In Switzerland he befriends a gypsy, Marie (Franka Potente), he takes him to Paris where he lived. There the hunt hots up, with local police and CIA top agents after them. They have to hide and work together to solve the mystery.
They are a lot of positives in this film. It has an excellent cast, it's Matt Damon's first blockbuster and he is good as the spy who is both cold and emotion and also one high alert. Their is Franka Potente, a very good actress and is a woman caught in the middle of this chase. Chris Cooper is good as the villain, and there are other excellent supporting actors, Brain Cox, Clive Owen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Julia Stiles. The Bourne Identity is the director's (Doug Liman) first blockbuster and he shows he is a excellent action director. There also some excellent action scene, such as the car chase in the mini with Ready, Steady, Go as the backing song, to the fight scenes to the final fight. Also, he doesn't use shaky cam like Paul Greengrass did in the sequels. It also a part of the trend that X-Men started out, getting an indie director to direct action film and bring strong story to a film. There is a fantastic script by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. They wrote a very intelligence, thoughtful script that makes you thing. There are themes of memory, nature vs. nurture, the all seeing eye of the CIA and their willingness to be ruthless. It is also unusual for a blockbuster because it makes out that the Americans (or at least the CIA) as the bad guys. It has a left-wing political stance which Greengrass continues.
It's an excellent film and needs multipal viewings to truly understand it.