The Bourne Identity (2002)

[mbarker]

Hum, sigh. I have had people recommend this movie, so when it was on Japanese TV last night, I watched it.

[WARNING! THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!]

It was the 2002 version (according to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258463/ the star was Doug Liman?). Lots of action, but the underlying story is that of an amnesiac trying to figure out who he is. Since he's a spy/assassin, this is complicated by his own folks being out to get him. And, of course, there is a love story. I think this is where I really had the most trouble with the film. He meets the girl in the street, offers her $10,000 to drive him to Paris, and of course things get complicated. But the main impetus to their sexual encounter seems to be him washing her hair and cutting it. This is to disguise her, although his buzz cut blond hair never gets touched?

And the shadowy bad guys who are running the outfit apparently wipe out their own head agent, just to clean things up. So Bourne is free to track down the girl (which apparently isn't too difficult) and there are hints of "and they lived happily ever after."

Apparently the incident that started the whole thing off was him being assigned to kill Nykwana Wombosi - and he finds him surrounded by children, and decides not to go ahead. In trying to get away, he is shot, which brings us full circle to the beginning of the movie. But . . . aside from the continued high-paced action, this seems like a hohum movie to me? I never felt terribly sympatico with the star - somehow that blond All-American boy didn't cut it for me as a role model - and the complications felt forced.

Why do people find this a good movie? Just the popcorn chewing action?

Comments

[webbiegrrl.livejournal.com]

hehehe, Doug Limon??? You mean Matt Damon, I think.

I liked the movies (all 3) and I liked the music. Didn't like the books all that much and the books were a different story, a more interesting story, but the books were dry and boring and wordy. The movies were thin and over the top and flashy. I dunno, It was as you say a good excuse to eat popcorn? :)

-sry

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

going too fast -- Doug was the director, Matt was the star. All three? so despite the apparent closure of this first movie, they resurrected it. Can't be more amnesia, because he already got over that. Oh well, retired spies never get to rest easy. I suppose we're running it here because they're releasing one of the other movies -- that often gets the early movie on TV. At least I know now that I really didn't like the first one, so I probably don't need to watch the others. Thanks for the warning.

[webbiegrrl.livejournal.com]

You might enjoy the whole trilogy or you might prefer the books - or you might not like any of it.

Bourne Identity (2002)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0258463/

Bourne Supremacy (2004)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0372183/

Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0440963/

I actually saw the Richard Chamberlain version of this movie way, way back in the 80s well, late 80s. It appears to have come out in 1988 but I think it was released prior to that 'cause I went to college in 1988 and I remember where I was living when I saw this movie. It was prior to college.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0094791/

Also stars Jackyln Smith = both Smith and Chamberlain are very young here, at their "star" peaks I think :) She's fresh off Charlie's Angels and he's King of the Miniseries already in 1988.

As melodramatic as a 1988 TV movie was, I still preferred it over Matt Damon's 2002 version. And over Ludlum's book harsh as that is.

-sry