The Bourne Identity

A man with a bullet-ridden body is found and looked after by strangers. He wakes up with a blank memory and begins a journey to learn his identity, unaware that the road ahead is full of danger.

Review

If you are looking for an intelligent, gripping and entertaining spy thriller, then I highly recommend The Bourne Identity!

At a time when espionage movies were known for the gadgets, gimmicks and over-the-top action, The Bourne Identity was a refreshing take on the spy thriller genre with a more grounded and realistic approach. Hiring Matt Damon was a risk as at the time he had seen early success with ‘Good Will Hunting’ but many people probably doubted his ability to pull off a believable, highly trained operative, but boy did he prove people wrong!  This movie immediately propelled his career as a leading man.  Damon effortlessly plays a character who is determined to find answers, not out of fear, but basic instinct, reacting to what’s around him without a single doubt or second thought. He completely pulls off a character who has been trained and could kill you in an instant but still shows a caring nature.  Move over James Bond and Ethan Hunt, you have competition and his name is Jason Bourne!

What I love about the movie is it’s fascinating story interwoven with great action because we are learning about Jason Bourne’s identity as he is uncovering the truth about his past.  The characters that are hunting Bourne never explicitly say who or what he is.  Chris Cooper and Brian Cox only show and act that they know this man and that it’s someone they do not want roaming freely around the world, so this only makes the reveal later in the movie so much more satisfying.  The movie starts with a really ominous feeling, with Bourne being pulled out of the ocean, having bullets removed and the device under his skin only raising questions that creates an immediate interest in the story. 

Director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) used the handheld technique to shoot the action sequences and for me, this added a level of intensity.  Specifically, in the hand-to-hand combat scenes because it never feels like 2 actors performing but instead feels like a real violent brawl.  The fight scene in the Paris apartment was a stand-out, Bourne sensing something was off created a feeling of danger and a tense atmosphere, and although you are expecting something to happen, I still jumped out of my skin when a assassin crashed through the window. 

One character who needed more screen time was Clive Owen who receives very little development and is only known as ‘The Professor’.  I understand the point was to know limited information about his character which makes him even more intriguing.  He comes across very calm and collected but also very menacing so some extra scenes with him would have been an added bonus.  I felt that the cat and mouse scene between Bourne and The Professor needed to be longer to show off their individual skill sets but overall this did not negatively impact the movie.   

I thoroughly enjoyed the first instalment in the Bourne franchise.   The movie just keeps you guessing throughout its runtime and there is such an unexpected twist at the end, and it pains me that I refuse to mention spoilers because this would be a moment worth mentioning!

If you enjoy spy-movies, then The Bourne Identity needs to be on your watch list.