Bourne Identity, The [19]

Matt Damon plays a man rescued from the sea, who has no clue who he is except for a Swiss bank account number. This Robert Ludlum novel was my introduction to his writings. The book interested me enough to read The Osterman weekend. I found The Osterman weekend to be much more interesting and compelling. Perhaps this is why The Osterman weekend was really the first theater film produced from Ludlum’s books. Like most of Ludlum's spy thrillers, the Bourne identity has its origins in the Cold War, but all they really needed to do was change the name of the enemy and make the problem the same.

As we later find out, Bourne is a “sleeper” killing machine handled by the CIA through a front company called Treadstone. He failed in his mission and now needs to be eliminated to clean up the mess. The problem is that he is just too good.
Bourne (speaking to Marie): “I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?”

Chris Cooper does an excellent job as Alexander Conklin the CIA manager of the Treadstone project.
Jason Bourne : “Who am I?”
Alexander Conklin : “You're U.S. Government property. You're a malfunctioning $30 million weapon. You're a total goddamn catastrophe, and by God, if it kills me, you're going to tell me how this happened.” I enjoyed Cooper very much as the coal mine manager father in the movie October Sky, which I recommend as a rental.

I have already given away quite a bit, but there you go, the plot really is that simple. The rest of the movie unfolds in location action shots and car chases. Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz plays the gypsy girl love interest. She does not really help advance the plot, but at least she gives Bourne’s character some emotional interaction.

This movie is worth a weeknight rental or check it out on cable TV. Keep it away from the kids. {BB}

Added: October 20th 2004
Reviewer: BB
29 Point Scale Score:    [19]

Related Link (IMDB): IMDB
Hits: 1957
Language: english