The Bourne Identity (2002)

A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia.

Director:

Doug Liman

Writers:

Tony Gilroy (screenplay), W. Blake Herron (screenplay),

Stars:

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Jason Bourne
Franka Potente	...	Marie
Chris Cooper	...	Conklin
Clive Owen	...	The Professor
Brian Cox	...	Ward Abbott
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Wombosi
Gabriel Mann	...	Zorn
Walton Goggins	...	Research Tech
Josh Hamilton	...	Research Tech
Julia Stiles	...	Nicolette
Orso Maria Guerrini	...	Giancarlo (as Orso Maria-Guerrini)
Tim Dutton	...	Eamon
Denis Braccini	...	Picot
Nicky Naudé	...	Castel (as Nicky Naude)
David Selburg	...	Marshall

Storyline

Based very loosely on Robert Ludlum's novel, the Bourne Identity is the story of a man whose wounded body is discovered by fishermen who nurse him back to health. He can remember nothing and begins to try to rebuild his memory based on clues such as the Swiss bank account, the number of which, is implanted in his hip. He soon realizes that he is being hunted and takes off with Marie on a search to find out who he is and why he is being hunted.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | fishing boat | bank account | passport | martial arts | 

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Taglines:

Matt Damon is Jason Bourne

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [us]

Country:

USA Germany Czech Republic

Language:

English French German Dutch Italian

Release Date:

14 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Identidad desconocida

Filming Locations:

Avenue Kleber, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$932,960 (Japan) (24 January 2003)

Gross:

$4,874,565 (Japan) (28 February 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Kennedy/Marshall Company, The, Hypnotic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The region in Greece shown at the end of the movie is the island of Mykonos in the Aegean sea.

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Goofs

When Jason is talking to Marie in the car about giving herself up to cops, some cops approach the car. In the following chase scene Jason backs up his Mini and nearly hits the front part of the bus. Then a police cars takes the place between his Mini and the bus. In the following shot however you can see absolutely no cars or buses behind the cop. In the scene after this one the bus is on its place again.

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Quotes

The Professor: [the Professor's dying words] Look at this. Look at what they make you give.

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Crazy Credits

A thunderstorm sounds in the background of the Universal logo.

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Connections

Referenced in Casino Jack (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Threesome"
Written by Adam Hamilton
Performed by Adam Hamilton
Courtesy of Peer-Southern Productions, Inc.

User Reviews

Fine little action flick

I can sympathize with reviewers who had read the book and were disappointed by this film and the liberties it apparently took with the story. I've had that happen with books I've enjoyed and it can spoil a film you might otherwise have liked. I never read the book, so I was able to appreciate this film on its own merits - slick, tough, fast-paced and refreshingly devoid of the kind of nonsense that has made the Bond films harder and harder to sit through.

I'm especially impressed by the fights, which, as other reviewers have pointed out, are among the most believable martial-arts-based fight scenes ever seen. No big grand gestures or Olympian kicks - just fast, nasty moves designed to inflict maximum damage with minimum effort.

The cast is uniformly good - even Damon, who is no fave of mine, comes across believably as a man who's trained to hold it all in, but isn't sure what it all is that he's holding in. Cooper, Cox and Owen shine in their all-too-brief screen time. Potente is attractive in a real person sort of way (sigh of relief for this genre) and possesses an inner strength that makes her character's actions and reactions ring truer than what we'd get from the traditional Hollywood eye-candy girlfriend these films normally feature.

From the gritty bowels of the trawler, where Damon awakens to his situation, to the field where he confronts his most deadly assailant, the locations are the antithesis of the travel poster hotspots that Bond so frequently visits. Despite its breakneck pace (handled so well by Liman and so poorly in the sequel by his protégé), the film manages to convey a sense of melancholy that lifts it a bit above the average action thriller. Sorry book fans - it may not be your cup of Ludlum, but it's still a damn fine little action flick.