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by Shawn

Alright, it seems at least once a year Hollywood decides to throw a memory-loss thriller at us (Memento, Shattered, Highlander 2: The Quickening) They're pretty much hit or miss, but my expectations rose when I found out that Doug Liman (Swingers and the vastly underrated GO) was behind this years entry: The Bourne Identity. Matt Damon stars as Jason Bourne, a man who does not remember his past, but has an uncanny knack to kick everyone's ass blindfolded. It's very frustrating to him that he can kick so much ass but not remember who he is, so naturally he takes the laser pointer out of the back of his head that has the address for the bank where he keeps all of his spy stuff. I know if I were I spy, I'D have one of those. Minor leaps of faith aside, this was a very enjoyable movie. Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) plays the woman who Bourne gets caught up in this elaborate mystery. You see like any good amnesiac-ridden killing machine Bourne is obsessed with finding his identity. It should come as no surprise that the quest is met with danger and government conspiracy. The head of the project team (Chris Cooper, chewing scenery as always) for Bourne's spy group is trying to find and kill him, so there is no proof left that an attempted American assassination was made on an African leader. He is met with opposition from HIS boss (Brian Cox, who seemingly can't say no to government assassin amnesia thrillers, as he was also in Long Kiss Goodnight) who just wants the whole mess cleared up. Damon and Potente run from place to place trying to put the puzzle of his life back together. Obviously he finds out by films end, but I really liked the way it all played out. When Damon goes into ass-kicking mode, it's like a supernatural instinct. He still doesn't know HOW he's doing it, just that he HAS to do it to survive. Violence erupts from him like an afterthought. He knows very well how to deal with just about any situation that he gets put into here (I especially liked the car chase scene, best I've seen since RONIN) but he does none of it with malice, and all of it with ease. yet it doesn't come off as unrealistic- just that he's REALLY well-trained for this stuff (as he should be, it's stated in the film 30 million was spent to program him). Liman is definitely an actor's director, and he gets the best performance I think I've ever seen from Damon (he, like his buddy Ben Affleck always seems to be playing himself in movies) and keeps the pace moving with plot and action zigzagging along until the admitadly predictable ending. All in all it's a very enjoyable film. Not quite as over the top and fun as it's peer The Long Kiss Goodnight, but certainly better than the first attempt at this material, a crappy 1988 TV movie of the same (both of which, are based on the novel by Robert Ludlum) name starring Richard Chamberlain in Damon's role.

ACTION MOVIES 101

by jim

If you gave one hundred competent filmmakers the premise, "Government super-assassin gets amnesia", they would have all come up with an exact replica of THE BOURNE IDENTITY. The film is, in no way, a bad movie. It's an enjoyable movie going excursion. It, however, lacks any shred of originality or daring. It's the kind of movie that receives no negative word of mouth, but doesn't get much in the way of positive accolades either. This perfect mediocrity has allowed BOURNE to chug along to a pretty respectable gross over an extended period of time.

Matt Damon, who makes a perfectly respectable action star, plays Jason Bourne, an elite killing machine that botches an assignment and wakes up with a nasty case of amnesia and half the world's police and fellow secret agents after him. His only chance for survival is in the hands of a nomadic hottie played by sexy German rising star Franka Potente. Damon and Potente have a surprisingly innate chemistry and that helps to pull the films paint-by-numbers plot along. I know that the book that the film is based on was a monster hit. I've never read it, but can only assume that it goes a little deeper than it's big screen offspring. The writing duo consists of relative newcomer William Blake Herron and relative hack artist Tony Gilroy. Gilroy has been responsible for the mundane screenplays that helped make films like PROOF OF LIFE, EXTREME MEASURES and DOLORES CLAIBORNE so forgettable. What surprises me is that at the helm of this summer actioner is quirky, if inconsistant director Doug Liman, the man who brought us GO and SWINGERS. Sadly this film is less creative than even the weakest of Liman's small filmography, GETTING IN. Perhaps it was the pressure of running the show for a major Hollywood picture was too much for Liman. It seems as if the director was overwhelmed, possibly intimidated by the large scale project. The whole thing stinks of fear.

As for the rest of the supporting cast, Brian Cox turns in his standard performance. It's disappointing to see Julia Stiles reduced to a role that could have been played by any actress in the free world. Her exceptional talent is lost in a minor role that only even rates mention because of the girl playing it. Stiles, for her part, turns in perhaps the weakest performance of her budding career. The other letdown is former Oscar nominee Chris Cooper. I would say that I was shocked to see what little Cooper has done with his career post-AMERICAN BEAUTY, but, honestly, he hadn't done much with it before hand either, so it's starting to look like Cooper is a run-of-the-mill fill in role player that just got lucky. The other major supporting player isn't an actor at all. It is the historic European landscape shot gorgeously on location by Oliver Wood, Dan Mindel, and Don Burgess. The scenery just pops to life and gives the film a sense of you-are-there excitement that helps raise this otherwise banal film to a whole new level.

THE BOURNE IDENTITY will not stay with you. It will not be a DVD must have. It doesn't even inspire multiple viewings. It is a serviceable time passer, that leaves you hoping that the inevitable sequel will be better and that, if Doug Liman returns to direct that the challenge will not seem so frightening and that he will add a bit of his own style and ingenuity to it. This is your predictable summer popcorn flick, and sadly, nothing more.