The Bourne Identity (2002)

Director:

Doug Liman

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

14 June 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He was the perfect weapon until he became the target.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Jason Bourne | Sea | Bank Account | Boat

Awards:

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 Naude	...	Castel
David Selburg	...	Marshall

Also Known As:

Die Bourne Identität (Germany)
Identidad desconocida (Argentina) (Colombia) [es]
La mémoire dans la peau (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Идентификация Борна (Russia) [ru]
A Identidade Bourne (Brazil) [pt]
A bourne-rejtély (Hungary) [hu]
Bornov identitet (Serbia) [sr]
Bourneov identitet (Croatia) [hr]
Die Bourne Identität (Austria) [de]
El caso Bourne (Spain) [es]
Geçmisi olmayan adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Horis taftotita (Greece) [el]
Hvem var Jason Bourne (Norway) [no]
Manden uden navn (Denmark) [da]
Medusan verkko (Finland) [fi]
Tozsamosc Bourne'a (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Czech Republic

Language:

English | French | German | Dutch | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 (TV rating) | Malaysia:18SG | Hungary:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Italy:T | India:UA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:14 | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37892) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Avenue Kleber, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The rifle the 'Professor' uses at various occasions, for example at the farm, is a Swiss SIG 550 Sniper.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Right before Wombosi is assassinated by the Professor, a flag is displayed on the wall as he walks with his assistant. Wombosi is supposed to be Nigerian, but the flag more closely resembles that of Kenya.

Quotes:

Jason Bourne: I don't want to do this anymore.
Conklin: I don't think that's a decision you can make.
Jason Bourne: Jason Bourne is dead, you hear me? He drowned two weeks ago. You're gonna go tell 'em that Jason Bourne is dead, you understand?
Conklin: Where are you gonna go?
Jason Bourne: I swear to God, if I even feel somebody behind me, there is no measure to how fast and how hard I will bring this fight to your doorstep. I'm on my own side now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#7.66)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

In the Sun

Surprisingly Good - Fans of the Book Will Not Be Let Down!

Matt Damon is Jason Bourne in the 2002 film `The Bourne Identity,' based on the # 1 best selling novel by Robert Ludlum.

The plot goes something like this…

A man awakens on a small fishing boat outside France. Bullet-riddled and without memory, he finds himself pursued by mysterious assassins, all the while trying to gain back his memory.

I recall first reading `The Bourne Identity.' It was a well-written book. Like the book, the movie is also good. Perhaps it is the excellent cinematography of France – it captured the clichéd images I imagined when I read the book. The acting is surprisingly good, as well. Not many people know that `The Bourne Identity' is the second film to be based on Ludlum's novel (see the TV version starring Jaclyn Smith and Richard Chamberlain from 1988), but the newer 2002 version is much better, and definitely worth wasting your money on.

Matt Damon pulls off the character of Jason Bourne with ease, while Franka Potente does not disappoint. Chris Cooper has fun with his role, and a small role by Julia Stiles surprises.

There is a great car chase in this film. Fans of the Seventies and Eighties-type genres will love this movie. It has the feel of a classy thriller, and never resorts to stupidity instead smarts, or action instead of plot.

Of course many things had to be dropped from the book to make this film. That is only expected. But I'm glad they didn't `butcher' this movie up like some other book-to-film movies.

Overall, `The Bourne Identity' is not a great movie, but it sure is good, as well as surprising. Very much so, in fact.

4/5 stars -

John Ulmer