Like its protagonist, it never hands you explanations on a silver platter, and it makes you think a bit, something far too few thrillers do these days.
Comment
06/16/02
The Bourne Identity (2002)
83
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:178
Fresh:147
Rotten:31
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Matt Damon makes a convincing action hero in this solid, if old-fashioned (in the good sense), thriller.
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: As THE BOURNE IDENTITY begins, a man who may or may not be Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea and is hauled onto a fishing boat. When the ship's doctor examines... [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen
Director: Doug Liman
Reviews for The Bourne Identity
After a taut, top-notch first 80 minutes, director Doug Liman loses his way as the plotting and action sequences grow more predictable and mundane.
06/15/02
I could sympathize with Damon's character suffering from memory loss, as I too couldn't recall much about this forgettable film soon after seeing it.
06/15/02
Nicely paced and fits the bill for those in search of two hours of spy-based action and martial arts.
06/15/02
You need more than generic flash, dash and martial-arts moves to make a memorable thriller. Or do you?
06/15/02
An engaging action thriller painted against some of Europe's most beautiful locales.
06/15/02
A very familiar story, but well crafted
06/14/02
I am giving The Bourne Identity a marginal nod, but if you're looking for a classic-style espionage yarn with complex characters and an engrossing, complicated story, rent Spy Game instead.
06/14/02
State of the art Hollywood genre filmmaking: impersonal, efficient and exciting.
06/14/02
Does The Bourne Identity hang together as a taut spy thriller? Not completely. But Matt certainly delivers a summer punch.
06/14/02
There isn't a dull or dumb moment in this movie.
06/14/02
[A] savvy adaptation of Robert Ludlum's action-clogged 1980 bestseller.
06/14/02
An entertaining thriller that eschews most of the usual spy gimmicks in favour of old-fashioned sleuthing.
06/14/02
Although it's entertaining, Bourne has a staid, conventional feel. as if it could have been made at any time in the past 25 years.
06/14/02
The characters are so generic and the plot so bland that even as rogue CIA assassins working for Chris Cooper's agency boss close in on the resourceful amnesiac, we don't feel much for Damon/Bourne or his predicament.
06/14/02
Bourne aspires only to be a fun popcorn movie -- and, for the most part, it is.
06/14/02
Its scenes and sensibility are all more than familiar, but it exudes a kind of nostalgic spy-movie charm and, at the same time, is so fresh and free of the usual thriller nonsense that it all seems to be happening for the first time.
06/14/02
For the most part, it thankfully succeeds rather well and comes off as an engaging and entertaining entry in the genre.
06/14/02
There are moments that feel just on the edge of silly, but that's the idea.
06/14/02
The swiftest and sexiest modern thriller since The Thomas Crown Affair.
06/14/02
Latest News for The Bourne Identity
August 21, 2009:
New Writer Hired for Fourth Bourne Film 
With George Nolfi tied up on "The Adjustment Bureau," Universal has hired Josh Zetumer to come up with a new script for the fourth installment in the "Bourne" series. More...
August 07, 2009:
Doug Liman Is a Real Life Action Hero
"Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman was boating in the Hudson River when he saw a cargo ship plow into a speedboat -- and then he helped rescue the four passengers, all of... More...
August 04, 2009:
Matt Damon Talks More Bourne
If it happens, it won't come together for some time, but according to Matt Damon, the door is open for a fourth "Bourne" film. More...
April 13, 2009:
Fourth Bourne Arriving in 2011?
Producer Frank Marshall has apparently joined the ranks of famous folks on Twitter -- where he's announced that the fourth "Bourne" movie is on track for summer 2011. More...
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