Just recently, the third film in the Bourne Trilogy, "The Bourne Ultimatum" was released into theaters. The film quickly racked up a substantial amount of box office business and created a tidal wave of press for its star Matt Damon and the character of Jason Bourne. There were comparisons to James Bond, the franchise, the character and the men who have played the English super spy. A lot of thought was put into whether or not Damon has ´retired´ the CIA spy, or if Bourne will return for the stories that were not written by author Robert Ludlum or for all new adventures written specifically to allow the actor to keep his successful series of films alive. Before "The Bourne Ultimatum" found its way to cineplexes, "The Bourne Supremacy" was released onto HD-DVD and the first film in the series, "The Bourne Identity" has also found its way into the realm of high definition.
Starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, "The Bourne Identity" is about a CIA hitman who is suffering from a strong case of amnesia. He does not remember anything about himself, but has found a peaceful existence with some fishermen who saved him from drowning. Slowly, bits and pieces of his previous existence return to him and Bourne discovers he can speak a multitude of languages and also tie intricate knots, make coffee and read maps. Eventually, the trawling vessel lands in Zurich and Bourne sets off to look into a bank account he remembers and hopefully unlock more information on who he is and how he got into the water in which the fishermen pulled him from near death. In Zurich, Bourne opens a safe deposit box which contains money, various passports containing his picture and a firearm. Bourne assumes he is the man on the American passport.
Bourne´s trip to the bank was far from routine. Along the way, he easily disarmed and defeated armed police officers. He realized he was adept at hand to hand combat. Across the ocean, at Langley, CIA official Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) meets with CIA Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) and they discuss a botched assassination attempt against an African dictator. Conklin´s super secretive Operation Treadstone group was tasked with the job and Conklin is ordered to eliminate the agent that failed to kill the African dictator. Of course, this agent was the man who is trying to discover his identity in Zurich and Jason Bourne soon finds himself running away from the local authorities, government agents from the United States and others hot on the trail of the man with no memory of whom he is. After emptying his safe deposit box, Bourne hires a pretty young girl, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) to take him to Paris, France.
Along the way on his travels to France, Bourne and Marie encounter a number of people who recognize Jason. Bourne uncovers more clues, but some lead to confusing situations and alternate identities. Bourne also encounters one of the hitmen sent to kill him, but easily bests the CIA agent with his apparent expert hand to hand skills. By aiding Jason Bourne travel to Paris, Marie finds herself under the sights of those trying to capture or kill Bourne. Their time in Paris is quick, but informative. To protect Marie, Jason sends her away with his money. Bourne and a hired hitman, the Professor (Clive Owen) clash and Bourne interrogates the Professor for information. The meeting points Bourne to the direction of Conklin and a path that will bring about a return of many of the troubling memories that will help Jason Bourne discover his true identity.
"The Bourne Identity" helped make Matt Damon a star. The actor had not been in many films prior to the first Bourne entry and after receiving solid praise from the majority of critics for both his performance and the film, "The Bourne Identity" paved the way for the remaining films in the trilogy and a slew of other projects eagerly awaiting Matt Damon. The praise received by Damon and the filmmakers is well deserved, as "The Bourne Identity" is an intelligent spy thriller that throws away the conventions created by the "James Bond" films of the world and grounds the character and the action on realistic situations and an air of believability that is a warm welcome for the genre. Jason Bourne is a character that thinks things through and uses his fists and weapons when needed. His fighting style is clean and efficient and not showy. Jason Bourne and this film are as such – efficient and not showy.
You can only watch machine guns pop out of Aston Martin and BMW cars so many times before it becomes hokey and uneventful. Gadgets, one-liners and spectacular stunts become mundane and tedious when you´ve seen and heard them too many times. In "The Bourne Identity," you have none of this nonsense. The cars are beat up old Mini Coopers or Renaults. Bourne speaks only when necessary and does not relish his role as an assassin. He uses what is available to him at the time and has little to no technology to assist his investigation into his identity. Conklin and his team have all types of electronic gadgetry at their disposal in locating Bourne, but they are unable to surpass Bourne´s instincts and cunning ability to avoid trouble. The comparisons to James Bond are interesting, because the Jason Bourne movies have no similarities to the suave British double-o agent. "The Bourne Identity" is great because it is a departure from the formula created by those films.
I´ve enjoyed all three of the "Bourne" films and although I feel the story arc is complete and feel that the character is ready to enjoy his retirement, I´m not sure I´m ready for Matt Damon to not revive the CIA hitman in the future. When comparing "The Bourne Identity" to the other two films, this one is easily my favorite of the three and I feel it is the best written and most captivating adventure. It was the introduction to the character and because of its fresh approach, the worthy sequels didn´t break any new ground. Another reason why I prefer "Identity" to its two younger siblings is the directing by Doug Liman and camera work by director of photography Oliver Wood. Paul Greengrass took over the series after the first film and the documentary style shakey-cam didn´t feel as refined as what Liman and Wood created for this film. "The Bourne Identity" feels more intelligent and more polished than the follow-ups and I give Liman much of the credit for this.
Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne. The role almost feels created for the actor. Co-star Chris Cooper is one of my favorite supporting actors and I enjoy him heavily in this film. Franka Potente and Julia Stiles are lovely ladies and their presence is felt in this film and they hold their own with Damon on-screen. Brian Cox and Clive Owen are also solid in their supporting roles and their presence in the film helped make "The Bourne Identity" the franchise keystone it became. This is a classic spy film that throws away convention and tried something else. It tried to be intelligent and rely on story and characters over flashy cars and spiffy gadgets. It succeeded and I have absolutely no problem recommending this film to anybody. Once the HD-DVD of "The Bourne Ultimatum" hits retail shelves, I´ll be enjoying a long evening of "The Bourne Trilogy," but for now the first and second films are available and well worth an investment of one´s time.
Starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, "The Bourne Identity" is about a CIA hitman who is suffering from a strong case of amnesia. He does not remember anything about himself, but has found a peaceful existence with some fishermen who saved him from drowning. Slowly, bits and pieces of his previous existence return to him and Bourne discovers he can speak a multitude of languages and also tie intricate knots, make coffee and read maps. Eventually, the trawling vessel lands in Zurich and Bourne sets off to look into a bank account he remembers and hopefully unlock more information on who he is and how he got into the water in which the fishermen pulled him from near death. In Zurich, Bourne opens a safe deposit box which contains money, various passports containing his picture and a firearm. Bourne assumes he is the man on the American passport.
Bourne´s trip to the bank was far from routine. Along the way, he easily disarmed and defeated armed police officers. He realized he was adept at hand to hand combat. Across the ocean, at Langley, CIA official Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) meets with CIA Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) and they discuss a botched assassination attempt against an African dictator. Conklin´s super secretive Operation Treadstone group was tasked with the job and Conklin is ordered to eliminate the agent that failed to kill the African dictator. Of course, this agent was the man who is trying to discover his identity in Zurich and Jason Bourne soon finds himself running away from the local authorities, government agents from the United States and others hot on the trail of the man with no memory of whom he is. After emptying his safe deposit box, Bourne hires a pretty young girl, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) to take him to Paris, France.
Along the way on his travels to France, Bourne and Marie encounter a number of people who recognize Jason. Bourne uncovers more clues, but some lead to confusing situations and alternate identities. Bourne also encounters one of the hitmen sent to kill him, but easily bests the CIA agent with his apparent expert hand to hand skills. By aiding Jason Bourne travel to Paris, Marie finds herself under the sights of those trying to capture or kill Bourne. Their time in Paris is quick, but informative. To protect Marie, Jason sends her away with his money. Bourne and a hired hitman, the Professor (Clive Owen) clash and Bourne interrogates the Professor for information. The meeting points Bourne to the direction of Conklin and a path that will bring about a return of many of the troubling memories that will help Jason Bourne discover his true identity.
"The Bourne Identity" helped make Matt Damon a star. The actor had not been in many films prior to the first Bourne entry and after receiving solid praise from the majority of critics for both his performance and the film, "The Bourne Identity" paved the way for the remaining films in the trilogy and a slew of other projects eagerly awaiting Matt Damon. The praise received by Damon and the filmmakers is well deserved, as "The Bourne Identity" is an intelligent spy thriller that throws away the conventions created by the "James Bond" films of the world and grounds the character and the action on realistic situations and an air of believability that is a warm welcome for the genre. Jason Bourne is a character that thinks things through and uses his fists and weapons when needed. His fighting style is clean and efficient and not showy. Jason Bourne and this film are as such – efficient and not showy.
You can only watch machine guns pop out of Aston Martin and BMW cars so many times before it becomes hokey and uneventful. Gadgets, one-liners and spectacular stunts become mundane and tedious when you´ve seen and heard them too many times. In "The Bourne Identity," you have none of this nonsense. The cars are beat up old Mini Coopers or Renaults. Bourne speaks only when necessary and does not relish his role as an assassin. He uses what is available to him at the time and has little to no technology to assist his investigation into his identity. Conklin and his team have all types of electronic gadgetry at their disposal in locating Bourne, but they are unable to surpass Bourne´s instincts and cunning ability to avoid trouble. The comparisons to James Bond are interesting, because the Jason Bourne movies have no similarities to the suave British double-o agent. "The Bourne Identity" is great because it is a departure from the formula created by those films.
I´ve enjoyed all three of the "Bourne" films and although I feel the story arc is complete and feel that the character is ready to enjoy his retirement, I´m not sure I´m ready for Matt Damon to not revive the CIA hitman in the future. When comparing "The Bourne Identity" to the other two films, this one is easily my favorite of the three and I feel it is the best written and most captivating adventure. It was the introduction to the character and because of its fresh approach, the worthy sequels didn´t break any new ground. Another reason why I prefer "Identity" to its two younger siblings is the directing by Doug Liman and camera work by director of photography Oliver Wood. Paul Greengrass took over the series after the first film and the documentary style shakey-cam didn´t feel as refined as what Liman and Wood created for this film. "The Bourne Identity" feels more intelligent and more polished than the follow-ups and I give Liman much of the credit for this.
Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne. The role almost feels created for the actor. Co-star Chris Cooper is one of my favorite supporting actors and I enjoy him heavily in this film. Franka Potente and Julia Stiles are lovely ladies and their presence is felt in this film and they hold their own with Damon on-screen. Brian Cox and Clive Owen are also solid in their supporting roles and their presence in the film helped make "The Bourne Identity" the franchise keystone it became. This is a classic spy film that throws away convention and tried something else. It tried to be intelligent and rely on story and characters over flashy cars and spiffy gadgets. It succeeded and I have absolutely no problem recommending this film to anybody. Once the HD-DVD of "The Bourne Ultimatum" hits retail shelves, I´ll be enjoying a long evening of "The Bourne Trilogy," but for now the first and second films are available and well worth an investment of one´s time.
Just recently, the third film in the Bourne Trilogy, "The Bourne Ultimatum" was released into theaters. The film quickly racked up a substantial amount of box office business and created a tidal wave of press for its star Matt Damon and the character of Jason Bourne. There were comparisons to James Bond, the franchise, the character and the men who have played the English super spy. A lot of thought was put into whether or not Damon has ´retired´ the CIA spy, or if Bourne will return for the stories that were not written by author Robert Ludlum or for all new adventures written specifically to allow the actor to keep his successful series of films alive. Before "The Bourne Ultimatum" found its way to cineplexes, "The Bourne Supremacy" was released onto HD-DVD and the first film in the series, "The Bourne Identity" has also found its way into the realm of high definition.
Starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, "The Bourne Identity" is about a CIA hitman who is suffering from a strong case of amnesia. He does not remember anything about himself, but has found a peaceful existence with some fishermen who saved him from drowning. Slowly, bits and pieces of his previous existence return to him and Bourne discovers he can speak a multitude of languages and also tie intricate knots, make coffee and read maps. Eventually, the trawling vessel lands in Zurich and Bourne sets off to look into a bank account he remembers and hopefully unlock more information on who he is and how he got into the water in which the fishermen pulled him from near death. In Zurich, Bourne opens a safe deposit box which contains money, various passports containing his picture and a firearm. Bourne assumes he is the man on the American passport.
Bourne´s trip to the bank was far from routine. Along the way, he easily disarmed and defeated armed police officers. He realized he was adept at hand to hand combat. Across the ocean, at Langley, CIA official Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) meets with CIA Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) and they discuss a botched assassination attempt against an African dictator. Conklin´s super secretive Operation Treadstone group was tasked with the job and Conklin is ordered to eliminate the agent that failed to kill the African dictator. Of course, this agent was the man who is trying to discover his identity in Zurich and Jason Bourne soon finds himself running away from the local authorities, government agents from the United States and others hot on the trail of the man with no memory of whom he is. After emptying his safe deposit box, Bourne hires a pretty young girl, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) to take him to Paris, France.
Along the way on his travels to France, Bourne and Marie encounter a number of people who recognize Jason. Bourne uncovers more clues, but some lead to confusing situations and alternate identities. Bourne also encounters one of the hitmen sent to kill him, but easily bests the CIA agent with his apparent expert hand to hand skills. By aiding Jason Bourne travel to Paris, Marie finds herself under the sights of those trying to capture or kill Bourne. Their time in Paris is quick, but informative. To protect Marie, Jason sends her away with his money. Bourne and a hired hitman, the Professor (Clive Owen) clash and Bourne interrogates the Professor for information. The meeting points Bourne to the direction of Conklin and a path that will bring about a return of many of the troubling memories that will help Jason Bourne discover his true identity.
"The Bourne Identity" helped make Matt Damon a star. The actor had not been in many films prior to the first Bourne entry and after receiving solid praise from the majority of critics for both his performance and the film, "The Bourne Identity" paved the way for the remaining films in the trilogy and a slew of other projects eagerly awaiting Matt Damon. The praise received by Damon and the filmmakers is well deserved, as "The Bourne Identity" is an intelligent spy thriller that throws away the conventions created by the "James Bond" films of the world and grounds the character and the action on realistic situations and an air of believability that is a warm welcome for the genre. Jason Bourne is a character that thinks things through and uses his fists and weapons when needed. His fighting style is clean and efficient and not showy. Jason Bourne and this film are as such – efficient and not showy.
You can only watch machine guns pop out of Aston Martin and BMW cars so many times before it becomes hokey and uneventful. Gadgets, one-liners and spectacular stunts become mundane and tedious when you´ve seen and heard them too many times. In "The Bourne Identity," you have none of this nonsense. The cars are beat up old Mini Coopers or Renaults. Bourne speaks only when necessary and does not relish his role as an assassin. He uses what is available to him at the time and has little to no technology to assist his investigation into his identity. Conklin and his team have all types of electronic gadgetry at their disposal in locating Bourne, but they are unable to surpass Bourne´s instincts and cunning ability to avoid trouble. The comparisons to James Bond are interesting, because the Jason Bourne movies have no similarities to the suave British double-o agent. "The Bourne Identity" is great because it is a departure from the formula created by those films.
I´ve enjoyed all three of the "Bourne" films and although I feel the story arc is complete and feel that the character is ready to enjoy his retirement, I´m not sure I´m ready for Matt Damon to not revive the CIA hitman in the future. When comparing "The Bourne Identity" to the other two films, this one is easily my favorite of the three and I feel it is the best written and most captivating adventure. It was the introduction to the character and because of its fresh approach, the worthy sequels didn´t break any new ground. Another reason why I prefer "Identity" to its two younger siblings is the directing by Doug Liman and camera work by director of photography Oliver Wood. Paul Greengrass took over the series after the first film and the documentary style shakey-cam didn´t feel as refined as what Liman and Wood created for this film. "The Bourne Identity" feels more intelligent and more polished than the follow-ups and I give Liman much of the credit for this.
Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne. The role almost feels created for the actor. Co-star Chris Cooper is one of my favorite supporting actors and I enjoy him heavily in this film. Franka Potente and Julia Stiles are lovely ladies and their presence is felt in this film and they hold their own with Damon on-screen. Brian Cox and Clive Owen are also solid in their supporting roles and their presence in the film helped make "The Bourne Identity" the franchise keystone it became. This is a classic spy film that throws away convention and tried something else. It tried to be intelligent and rely on story and characters over flashy cars and spiffy gadgets. It succeeded and I have absolutely no problem recommending this film to anybody. Once the HD-DVD of "The Bourne Ultimatum" hits retail shelves, I´ll be enjoying a long evening of "The Bourne Trilogy," but for now the first and second films are available and well worth an investment of one´s time.
Starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, "The Bourne Identity" is about a CIA hitman who is suffering from a strong case of amnesia. He does not remember anything about himself, but has found a peaceful existence with some fishermen who saved him from drowning. Slowly, bits and pieces of his previous existence return to him and Bourne discovers he can speak a multitude of languages and also tie intricate knots, make coffee and read maps. Eventually, the trawling vessel lands in Zurich and Bourne sets off to look into a bank account he remembers and hopefully unlock more information on who he is and how he got into the water in which the fishermen pulled him from near death. In Zurich, Bourne opens a safe deposit box which contains money, various passports containing his picture and a firearm. Bourne assumes he is the man on the American passport.
Bourne´s trip to the bank was far from routine. Along the way, he easily disarmed and defeated armed police officers. He realized he was adept at hand to hand combat. Across the ocean, at Langley, CIA official Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper) meets with CIA Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) and they discuss a botched assassination attempt against an African dictator. Conklin´s super secretive Operation Treadstone group was tasked with the job and Conklin is ordered to eliminate the agent that failed to kill the African dictator. Of course, this agent was the man who is trying to discover his identity in Zurich and Jason Bourne soon finds himself running away from the local authorities, government agents from the United States and others hot on the trail of the man with no memory of whom he is. After emptying his safe deposit box, Bourne hires a pretty young girl, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) to take him to Paris, France.
Along the way on his travels to France, Bourne and Marie encounter a number of people who recognize Jason. Bourne uncovers more clues, but some lead to confusing situations and alternate identities. Bourne also encounters one of the hitmen sent to kill him, but easily bests the CIA agent with his apparent expert hand to hand skills. By aiding Jason Bourne travel to Paris, Marie finds herself under the sights of those trying to capture or kill Bourne. Their time in Paris is quick, but informative. To protect Marie, Jason sends her away with his money. Bourne and a hired hitman, the Professor (Clive Owen) clash and Bourne interrogates the Professor for information. The meeting points Bourne to the direction of Conklin and a path that will bring about a return of many of the troubling memories that will help Jason Bourne discover his true identity.
"The Bourne Identity" helped make Matt Damon a star. The actor had not been in many films prior to the first Bourne entry and after receiving solid praise from the majority of critics for both his performance and the film, "The Bourne Identity" paved the way for the remaining films in the trilogy and a slew of other projects eagerly awaiting Matt Damon. The praise received by Damon and the filmmakers is well deserved, as "The Bourne Identity" is an intelligent spy thriller that throws away the conventions created by the "James Bond" films of the world and grounds the character and the action on realistic situations and an air of believability that is a warm welcome for the genre. Jason Bourne is a character that thinks things through and uses his fists and weapons when needed. His fighting style is clean and efficient and not showy. Jason Bourne and this film are as such – efficient and not showy.
You can only watch machine guns pop out of Aston Martin and BMW cars so many times before it becomes hokey and uneventful. Gadgets, one-liners and spectacular stunts become mundane and tedious when you´ve seen and heard them too many times. In "The Bourne Identity," you have none of this nonsense. The cars are beat up old Mini Coopers or Renaults. Bourne speaks only when necessary and does not relish his role as an assassin. He uses what is available to him at the time and has little to no technology to assist his investigation into his identity. Conklin and his team have all types of electronic gadgetry at their disposal in locating Bourne, but they are unable to surpass Bourne´s instincts and cunning ability to avoid trouble. The comparisons to James Bond are interesting, because the Jason Bourne movies have no similarities to the suave British double-o agent. "The Bourne Identity" is great because it is a departure from the formula created by those films.
I´ve enjoyed all three of the "Bourne" films and although I feel the story arc is complete and feel that the character is ready to enjoy his retirement, I´m not sure I´m ready for Matt Damon to not revive the CIA hitman in the future. When comparing "The Bourne Identity" to the other two films, this one is easily my favorite of the three and I feel it is the best written and most captivating adventure. It was the introduction to the character and because of its fresh approach, the worthy sequels didn´t break any new ground. Another reason why I prefer "Identity" to its two younger siblings is the directing by Doug Liman and camera work by director of photography Oliver Wood. Paul Greengrass took over the series after the first film and the documentary style shakey-cam didn´t feel as refined as what Liman and Wood created for this film. "The Bourne Identity" feels more intelligent and more polished than the follow-ups and I give Liman much of the credit for this.
Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne. The role almost feels created for the actor. Co-star Chris Cooper is one of my favorite supporting actors and I enjoy him heavily in this film. Franka Potente and Julia Stiles are lovely ladies and their presence is felt in this film and they hold their own with Damon on-screen. Brian Cox and Clive Owen are also solid in their supporting roles and their presence in the film helped make "The Bourne Identity" the franchise keystone it became. This is a classic spy film that throws away convention and tried something else. It tried to be intelligent and rely on story and characters over flashy cars and spiffy gadgets. It succeeded and I have absolutely no problem recommending this film to anybody. Once the HD-DVD of "The Bourne Ultimatum" hits retail shelves, I´ll be enjoying a long evening of "The Bourne Trilogy," but for now the first and second films are available and well worth an investment of one´s time.
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