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The Bourne Identity
(2002)
Plot Summary:
On a stormy night a fishing trawler
pulls the body of a young man (Matt Damon) from the sea. The man is barely
alive and the boat's “doctor” removes two bullets and a strange little
device from his body. The device provides the number of a safety deposit box
in Zurich. When the young man regains consciousness he has amnesia and
can’t even remember his name.
When the
trawler docks he makes his way to Zurich to check out the safety
deposit box in the hope that it will give him some clue as to who he is
but the contents of the deposit box raise more questions than answers. Why
do I have a gun? Why do I have several passports with different names? Why
have I wads of cash? Most
importantly, why is someone trying to kill me!
Review:
This exciting, well-paced
action thriller has the feel of an old fashioned “on-the-run” movie. There is plenty of fighting and shoot outs and, of course, the obligatory
car chase. There is even a token explosion but this is done without the
over-the-top special effects that you see in the likes of the James
Bond and Mission Impossible movies. There are none of the
“special-agent gadgets” that seem to be necessary in these action
movies. That's not to say that over-the-top special effects don’t have
their place but it’s nice to see a thriller that has a good exciting
story without having to over rely on special effects. There are still plenty of
great stunts in the movie.
Its interesting plot, which
leaves some unanswered questions until the end, helps the movie by adding
some intrigue. There are a few holes along the way and some parts
mightn’t stand up to too much scrutiny but after all this is basically
an action movie and these flaws can be overlooked!
Matt Damon was an excellent
choice for the part. He doesn’t completely fit the “action hero”
role, i.e. all brawn and muscle, and this makes his character more
credible. As the man's true identity emerges the character looks
confused and scared but beneath his confusion his instincts can sense
danger and he can efficiently dispose of an enemy or two!
Franka Potente
plays Marie - a girl who helps Matt Damon’s character by driving him to Paris in her mini.
There is just about enough background information provided on Marie to
make her
character plausible. After all it's not everyone who agrees to drive a
stranger to Paris from Switzerland for a wad of cash!
The Bourne Identity is definitely
worth a recommendation - it's a well paced, exciting action thriller.
Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews
2002 |