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The Bourne Identity (2002)

Director:
Doug Liman
COUNTRY
USA/Germany/Czech Republic
GENRE
Crime/Thriller
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Gåten Jason Bourne
RUNNING TIME
119 minutes
Producer:
Patrick Crowley
Richard N. Gladstein
Doug Liman
Screenwriter (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 have 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 sexy approach 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 is also fairly inevitable.

Copyright © 12.10.2008 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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