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Member since:08.03.2001
Reviews:254
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Ah, the spy.
Bane of all European would-be dictators and cat stroking baldies the world over, they slip in and out of rooms (and women) undetected, with nary a scratch on their pristine hides or a ruffle in their slicked-back hair. “I expect you to perish!” scream the enemies whilst women cream their gusset after seeing men being beaten to death.
You gotta love spy movies, because they lend ordinary folks the demeanour of super-heroes with their world-saving antics, unlikely stunts and downright infallibility. So step into your martini and sip an ice-cold tuxedo for the latest espionage thriller - The Bourne Identity.
***THE PLOT***
A man’s body floats in the sea. Fishing boat finds man and reels him in. The ship’s doctor finds two bullets in his back and a device in his hip that projects the address of a Swiss bank account number. But the man is not dead as the crew assumed (do doctors not think to check people’s pulses?), in fact he’s angry as hell because he can’t remember who he is. Despite this unfortunate brain lapse, he soon remembers things, and is alarmed at his skill with just about everything from tying sailor knots to reading charts & maps. Even more alarming - when roused by policemen for sleeping on a park bench, he swiftly disarms them and puts them to the ground with devastatingly fast self defence moves.
Arriving at the Swiss bank the next day, he opens a large steel case to find his passport - his name is Jason Bourne. But that ain’t the half of it - a false bottom in the case is removed, revealing wads of cash in various currencies, several fake passports and a gun. Grabbing everything but the gun, he makes a run for Paris and his flat with the assistance of Marie, a girl he noticed during a botched trip to the American Embassy.
Why is he running? Well, it seems he was part of a plan to assassinate a radical of some sort, and his employers are out to terminate his career for not going through with the job. But why didn’t he do it? Will he find out who
he is? And can he protect Marie whilst being pursued by several “super spies”?
* * * * *
Now, this is one of those movies that will ‘offend’ people.
“Why’s that Ben?”
I’ll tell you.
It’s based on a book. In fact on a trilogy of books by famed author Robert Ludlum, all concerning the adventures of one Mr Jason Bourne, international spy-type person. Now as far as I understand they have changed a hell of a lot from the book in order to condense this into a workable 2-hour slice o’ action. For one, the main female character (Marie - played by Franka Potente) is completely at odds with her literary counterpart, as is the ending, the main action throughout and an essential set piece. Mind you, the summer movie from Matt Damon’s (who plays Bourne if you didn’t know) pal Ben Affleck - The Sum Of All Fears - was severely condensed (no IRA subplot, barely any submarine action) and didn’t suffer for it. If you are a fan of the books, you may well be all riled up about the changes. I tend to see movies of books as extended trailers for the book itself - after all, reading Jurassic Park is far more fun (and gory!) than screaming “YOU’RE MEANT TO BE SCOTTISH!” every time Dickie Attenborough opens his trap. But I digress.
*** WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?***
Surprisingly, quite a lot. Spy flicks aren’t exactly my bestest genre, but this manages to do away with a couple of clichés and provide good solid action with an interesting plot - basic as it is (man forgets who he is. Then he remembers). Sure there are typical clichés on rare occasion (woman in jeopardy falls for stranger, even best spies can’t touch Bourne etc) but never as many as a Bond movie.
The direction is tight and - I hate myself for saying this - “edgy”. Rather than typical static establishing shots of buildings where Bourne is hiding out, the camera whips around as if confused, focusing on an irrelevant background feature then whip-panning around to the actual hidey-hole. When it comes to the action scenes the camera tends to jump around a lot, as is a problem with many a big action movie now, making the action seem more flashy than it is and never allowing for impressive moves to sink in. That said, Damon manages to show speed and accuracy with his hastily learned moves, and has a nifty line in unusual techniques.
There is a superb car chase, which gets the old ticker pumping rapidly (even if during the screening I attended the reel came undone halfway through, causing an unnatural pause of 3 minutes) as Bourne slams a Mini around the back streets of Paris. It’s certainly one of the more impressive vehicular stunt sequences I’ve seen since Ronin, but doesn’t quite beat it.
Other standout action bits include the MI:2 styled descent from a 70ft wall, plus an incredibly tense hunt for a spy in a large open field. It’s good to see an indie director (Doug Liman of Swingers and Go fame) break out successfully into a blockbuster market, as is so often the case in this crazy modern world of ours. The typical techno-babble of spy thrillers is kept to a minimum, and only intrudes on the proceedings during the sequence when spies are dispatched to off Bourne. Flashy graphics spring up all over the screen and make the montage seem more like an advert for AOL than a movie scene - it works but it’s a little self-indulgent. Still, the fact that Damon did a lot of his own stunts makes up for the occasional moments of disbelief.
All the action is driven along by a dance-beat soundtrack, which is never intrusive or annoying and manages to fit in very well with the at-times-unbelievable action (this you will agree with on seeing the last burst of action, which is highly impressive but a little “yeah right”).
The acting from all concerned is spot on - and perhaps a mark of the “hip” director is the “hip” cast he’s managed to pull in for the main roles. Julia Stiles features as a snowed under field operative and Clive Owen as a sniping expert adds some class to the mix. Stiles’ character doesn’t have a lot to do (mainly look at flashy-light things and complain about under-staffing) but she does the job. Chris Cooper’s intelligence agency boss is suitably angry at there being a perfect killing machine on the loose, though he doesn’t go far beyond the remit of storming around and shouting at people.
***WHAT’S TO BEMOAN?***
For all the stylish action and impressively gritty story line, there is an air of “is that it” about the feature. For one, everything is tied up in the space of 3 minutes or less, with a bewildering and unacceptably brief brief from Brian Cox’s gruff intelligence agent, followed by an ending so tacked on they may as well have put drawing pins on the bloody thing. I thought it showed something of a lack of confidence from the makers for this to end so neatly, whereas they should surely try to develop this into a franchise. Surely a good move seeing as rival spy action flick xXx is in direct competition and planning on usurping Bond as the premier spy series.
I should also mention flashback syndrome. When Bourne has a revelatory flashback during the denouement, it’s pretty easy to get the idea of the significance behind it. Yet Liman shows us the same thing for way too long - a little snip! of 15-20 seconds could put this right, but that’s a very minor gripe. It’s just that I don’t need bludgeoning with a fact that is fairly obvious anyway!
My only other concern is that the story was really very basic - maybe because there are a lot of similar movies out there that have people on the run from hi-tech agencies. I think I’m too used to the kinds of twists that they can offer. How many times can you double cross someone, after all? Twice? Well, you’d like to think so, eh? But no.
It’s a fine example of the genre, and certainly not something I’d be averse to seeing again, but as far as classic status goes, it’s an inch short of the full penetration into my interest-vagina.
Got it nicely moist though.
And so to a challenge – to predict the name of the inevitable pornographic spoof of this movie. My tame effort is “Shavourne Is In Kitty” – say it out loud with the last three words spoken in rapid succession. Well, can’t be any worse than the slew of Bourne related puns in titles of reviews about this movie. Anyone done “Bourne To Raise Hell” yet?~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Things I learned from watching this movie:
When in doubt, jump through a window.
Policemen don’t like sleepy people.
Spies make lousy hairdressers.
Having a flashback hurts.
Never train a spy to be better than everyone else - that’s just silly.
You can’t keep a good spy down. Or a bad one for that matter. Unless you shoot ‘em in the head.
Getting shot in the back causes partial amnesia.
Being coerced into going on the run with a man you don’t know is a massive turn-on.
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Excellent review, funny too, something you don't see much of on Ciao. Here, take this exceptional and wear it with pride :D
Weeping_Willow 13.09.2002 00:42
Lol! Excellent op but don't think I'll be seeing this in a hurry as I can't abide Matt Damon. Amy :o)
Elainebaba 11.09.2002 18:36
Oh gawd man! yuh really make me laf! you never fail to make me giggle! I just love the things you have learnt about the Bourne Identity, jump through the window and getting shot in the back can cause partial amnesia! hehehe! meh 2 best ones I like.
Avril
Freely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 bestseller,The Bourne Identitystarts fast and ... more
never slows down. The twisting plot revs up in Zurich, where amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), with no memory of his name, profession, or recent activ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
He was the perfect weapon until he became the target.Explosive action thriller starring ... more
Matt Damon (Ocean's Eleven) and Franka Potente (Run Lola, Run) and based on the International bestseller by Robert Ludlum.Rescued with two bullets in his back, Jaso...
Advantages: Good character development, draws you into the story, superbly written, great start to the series Disadvantages: A little overkill in location desciptions but I feel they become necessary
Andy.mack 20.09.2004 (23.10.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Bourne Identity (DVD)
Advantages: Good character development, draws you into the story, superbly written, great start to the series Disadvantages: A little overkill in location desciptions but I feel they become necessary
Andy.mack 20.09.2004 (23.10.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Bourne Identity (DVD)
![The Bourne Identity [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78538864.jpg "The Bourne Identity [DVD] [2002]")
Sep 11th, 2002
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (95%):
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