The Bourne Identity
Directed by Doug Liman     

 Review by Rada Djurica     

"The Bourne Identity" is an entertaining high class thriller. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is an agent with memory loss for a mysterious reason. Indeed, Matt Damon has the muscles to act his part well, as the hunted-turned-hunter. Nothing new, but what's new is Franka Potente, given the chance to move beyond her niche, from the exciting, original and stylised "Run Lola Run," a German film, to enter a big, blockbusting brand-name entertainment like this one. "The Bourne Identity" is also the first big budget Hollywood film by indie director Doug Liman ("Go" and "Swingers"), and it is a completely satisfying thriller that will keep your brain and adrenaline pumping.

Matt Damon is terrific as an amnesiac who can't remember who he is or what he does for a living. Indeed, all of the casting is superb. Chris Cooper (Oscar winner for "Adaptation") is a cold-blooded bureaucrat, easy to hate; and Jason Bourne is the one to love, even if Jason does almost all the killing.

Stories about losing memory usually make for a great thriller and for good drama. Memory loss opens possibilities for exploration. In Christopher Nolan's "Memento," Guy Pearce inhabits the role of a man with short-term memory loss, attempting to avenge his wife's murder. David Lynch's last film, "Mullholland Dr.," also focuses on memory loss. And in memory loss movies, a common theme is that the viewer is challenged to guess the truth: is the protagonist, himself, the killer?

British actor Clive Owen ("Croupier") does a fine job as one of the men attempting to assassinate Jason. The rest of the crew includes Brian Cox ("X2") and Julia Stiles ("A Guy Thing") as the woman who cleans up messes in the field. Clearly, Liman has gathered a brilliant cast. Liman's directing skills are also constantly evident. The movie has clear and clean chase scenes, especially when Jason makes one of the most unusual escapes ever seen.

"The Bourne Identity" is not sentimental: thrillers like this usually aren't. But Robert Ludlum's big fat book of the same name deals with a 33-year-old man who has lost his memory. So how did the book become so popular? The answer is Robert Ludlum's writing, which cannot be easily translated to the screen. Ludlum is one of the great contemporary, action-adventure prose genius. But what is powerful prose in print can easily become prosaic on the screen.

As has been done so many times before, Doug Liman's film opens in the Mediterranean, on a dark night, with Bourne finding himself on a fishing boat. Somehow, he remembers the number of a Swiss account created for him. What a surprise to discover his safe deposit box filled with different currencies and about seven passports in different names. After a furious chase on Zurich streets, with the police running after him, he escapes in a car driven by Marie (Franka Potente). For her help, he pays her $10,000 to drive to Paris, with $10,000 extra promised once they arrive.

But easy money is always attached to some dangerous, isn't it?

The memory loss enables the entire story and provides the reader (and the movie audience) with a challenge: Can you figure out what the guy was doing when he was shot in the back three times outside Marseilles? If you guessed the answer before the ending, you're ahead of the game. Unfortunately, in this case the answer is very predictable. Be prepared to be disappointed. The audience is likely to be surprised for most of the picture as clues are revealed to the missing piece of the puzzle, but its revelation turns "The Bourne Identity" into a generic thriller with car chases, guns, and martial arts demonstrations.