The Bourne Identity Reviews

excellent thriller!

I found this film one of the best action thrillers I have seen recently, a great storyline, tight script, weell acted, superb photography, thrilling chase sequences and keeping me on the edge of my seat.
It is about a Bourne who is trying to find out his idendity and where he came from, Matt Damon gives a good performance as Bourne and pace of the film never lets up.
Well worth watching

Though it's not quite the incredible film critics were making it out to be, The Bourne Identity manages to entertain the whole way through, and it's hard to imagine someone being bored during the film.

A body of a man is found floating in the ocean. This man has no idea who he is, who he was, or anything about his past. His ability to speak many different languages and provide detailed summaries about surroundings and people by just glancing at them suggests he was part of something big. Turns out, his name is Jason Bourne. And he's an assassin, and a good one. But now, he's on the run with the girl, in order to figure out more about his past, and not die.

As I watched the film, I was constantly reminded of another action film I saw recently: The Fugitive. The Fugitive was a 90's film with Harrison Ford, who plays a man named Richard Kimble, falsely charged with the murder of his beloved wife. He escapes prison, and is on the lam.

There are many reasons why The Fugitive is better than The Bourne Identity. For one, The Fugitive is more emotionally involving. We care about Dr. Kimble, and we feel his loss. The Bourne Identity offers no reason for us to care about any of the characters, so it's hard to root for either side.

Also, The Fugitive is much more frantic. Dr. Kimble's race from the cops never really stops until the very end. Jason Bourne stops every so often, as if to take a breather from the action. We don't feel the thrill with The Bourne Identity, like we did with The Fugitive (and the generic chase scenes don't help).

The film lacks smarts as well. The Fugitive was a nice little mystery alongside an action movie, but The Bourne Identity requires little thinking. We learn Jason Bourne's main role within half an hour.

But The Bourne Identity isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. There's lots of action. Maybe even more so than The Fugitive. There's gun fights, and fist fights. There's some exciting (and somewhat unrealistic) escape scenes as well.

The film also benefits from a solid cast. Never for a minute will you question a lack of quality in the performances. Matt Damon provides a frustrated man who lost his memory. Franka Potente acts convincingly as an even more confused and worried Marie Kreutz, who wants nothing more then to get out of this mess. The rest of the cast is equally strong.

I usually don't comment about the score in action films because they're usually very run-of-the-mill. This one was a little bit better than that, but the over-powering drums keep me from praising it too much.

The main flaw with The Bourne Identity, however, was it's lack of a final fight. No cinematic duel to the death. In The Fugitive, we had a manic fight/hide-and-seek/out wit game going, that was heart-pounding. We get no such thing in The Bourne Identity, which surprised me, considering the fact that this was in fact, a movie about action.

The Bourne Identity is perfect for teenage boys. It's fun, it's got some good action scenes, and a strong cast. It entertains from start to finish. It does suffer from problems though, such as a lack of thrill, no cinematic duel, and no need to think. But in the end, good outweighs the bad, and I'm ready for the sequel.

very good action film and the start of a great trilogy of the bourne films

I know I am probably in the minority but I actually think this movie is better than part 2 and 3. The reason why is actually pretty simple. In this movie, Jason Bourne is a vulnerable and insecure hero and it is something which I found rather refreshing and original but in the part 2 and 3, he just becomes another invicible and omnipotent action-hero, something I have seen already 1000 times. I mean, those sequels are pretty good, definitely, but I think they are popular mostly because of the badass action scenes (which are indeed pretty awesome) but the story is nothing really original or mind-blowing in my opinion. With this first movie, I thought that the action scenes were pretty cool AND that the story was really spellbinding to watch and I missed this great combination in the sequels. I have to admit that the way Matt Damon and Franka Potente hook together was rather unlikely but since both actors played so well, it didn't bother me that much. Back then, Potente was one of those rising European actors and it is just quite unfortunate that she never broke through stateside. On the contrary, it was a star-making performance for Matt Damon who suddenly became overnight a major action actor, even though he never made many movies in this genre. Eventually, Paul Greengrass got a lot of praise for what he did with this franchise and it is deserved but I think Doug Liman did a great job and should be credited as well. Anyway, to conclude, I think it is a very good action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

The Bourne Identity is an absolutely outstanding film that is the ultimate start to the intense, action-packed and very explosive trilogy. The Bourne Identity is the first of the Bourne trilogy and it started in such a huge way. It is a very gripping story that does feel a bit like a psychological dialogue because of Bourne's moments with people around him and also with himself. I love films that are cat-and-mouse films so to speak. Well, in a more understanding way: a fugitive on the loose with someone trying to find them or chasing them.


Matt Damon's performance as Jason Bourne was absolutely fantastic. He proves to be the perfect actor for the role. Despite his breakthrough performances in Good Will Hunting and his supporting performance in Saving Private Ryan, his performance in The Bourne Identity is the biggest performance of his career that made another breakthrough. Franka Potente was awesome as Maria. It is heartbreaking because they fall in love but something happens at the beginning of The Bourne Supremacy that changes the whole trilogy around completely. Chris Cooper, Brian Cox and Clive Owen were all brilliant too.


Doug Liman was brilliant at directing such a fantastic film. Paul Greengrass is probably a better director but Doug Liman certainly did a fantastic job at this film. He created a film that is based on adventure, action, drama, romance and suspense which is I think the best way to create a film mixed with different genres.


The Bourne Identity is a fantastic film. I'm unsure whether it's my favourite of the trilogy because I need to rewatch Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum again and then I'll find out what's the best one of the three. The Bourne trilogy is a rival with the James Bond franchise. The Bourne Identity is one of the best films of 2002 and one of the best action-thrillers of all time.

I don't like suspense or thriller movies, and rarely like action movies, so for me to have enjoyed this one must say something. I particularly like the smart storyline. A trained assassin is sent on a mission, during which he is so badly hurt that he forgets who he is. He doesn't understand whats going on, nor does his government understand why he seems to have gone rogue. I also really enjoyed how a civilian gets involved and her reactions to what goes on around them