Solid Flick

Rating: Null/10 (23 July 2004)

Just came from the theatre...I think the flick is solid.
I think Matt Damon does a good job of upholding the kind of character Jason Bourne should be, given the plot of this movie, which is not based on the book. There is no Carlos the Jackal to be found anywhere near these movie updates to the Bourne role.
There is slightly more depth revealed to the feeling of the Bourne character, but its only felt for a few moments at the beginning and end of the film. For the majority of this flick, strap yourself in again for the ride as he does whatever he can to unravel the mystery of his murderous identity and to be more like the rest of us who speak multiple languages, or outsmart entire task forces of secret agents, and can kick another assassin's ass using a rolled up magazine in a knife fight.
Leave the book on the shelf and just enjoy this fast moving (if frantic) film that thrills you with tradecraft, while using Goa, Naples, Amsterdam, Berlin, Moscow and New York City as the backdrop for demonstrating Bourne's ultimate expertise in his search for clues to his real identity.
I'm just glad there's one more Ludlum title to rape before this trilogy (I hope) is over.
Best line (as I remembered it, not as it really is): "You are in a deep puddle of s**t...and you're wearing the wrong shoes."