The Bourne Identity (2002)

	Directed by: Doug Liman	COUNTRY USA/Germany/Czech Republic GENRE Crime/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Gåten Jason Bourne RUNNING TIME 119 minutes
	Produced by: Patrick Crowley Richard N. Gladstein Doug Liman
	Written by  (based on a novel by Robert Ludlum): Tony Gilroy William Blake Herron

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jason Bourne	Matt Damon
Marie	Franka Potente
Conklin	Chris Cooper
The Professor	Clive Owen	½
Ward Abbott	Brian Cox	½
Wombosi	Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Zorn	Gabriel Mann
Nicolette	Julia Stiles
Giancarlo	Orso Maria Guerrini

Review

The Bourne Identity, a story from thriller writer Robert Ludlum, has quite a lot in common with the political paranoia thrillers of the 1970s. The paranoia is unequivocally present; the main difference is that the politics is left out. An amnesiac secret agent is picked up from certain death in the Mediterranean, and as we accompany him on his quest to reveal his own identity, it's not hard to fathom why he eventually gets fed up with it all. Although the script is quite intelligent, the operation Jason Bourne was a part of is not. Their agents, Bourne included, are relentless and humourless post-Matrix products who are more into choreography than their own well-being. Secret agents are fun, and Matt Damon has got what it takes to make Jason engaging, but The Bourne Identity is too much business and too little enjoyment. There is emotion and authenticity in the Damon/Potente relation, however. The German actress' natural eroticism in a steaming scene in a hotel makes the rest of their relationship believable. So is Jason Bourne's situation, frankly, but even if it is intriguing, its development ultimately lacks tension.