The Bourne Identity

In general terms it’s totally fine. It's got plenty of action, drama, and ambition. But what bothers me here is the rather unappealing atmosphere. It's like a mock-up or a set-up for something big that's not so big after all. I don't think Matt Damon was fully baked at that point. The same old pace can get boring after a while. 3.5 stars. (07/21/2011)

Action movies are not my cup of tea, but this one is really worth it. First of all, it relies on a sophisticated script, which is not primarily aimed at viewers with the mentality of an oversized ten-year-old child, and on an unconventional, rather civilian portrayal of the main character. Damon is perfect for the role of a disoriented agent and demonstrates excellent physicality. High pace, maintained tension, and an atmosphere of unpredictability. After the second viewing, I increase the rating to 90% and add a fifth star... (05/18/2007)

I've been waiting long enough, and I got even more. Specifically, a perfectly intimate action drive, which has no equal in its genre. And even though the viewer knows well where the plot is heading, they gladly follow the path of agents, bosses, assassinations, and betrayals. The secret of the main character works superbly. And despite all the admiration, I have to admit that at that time, I didn't even hope that Jason could become the most impressive killer of the 2000s and that the adaptations of Ludlum's books would become almost artistically popular affairs loved by both perfectionists and ordinary viewers. (02/11/2005)

An agent without a past... and without balls. Matt Damon is fine, and I'm not saying I don't like this concept of a "man of the people," who turns into a killing machine in a crisis, and the master of an ingenious escape strategy. But I enjoyed the character of Jason during action scenes rather than outside them, where he lacks charisma and is not all that convincing. Doug Liman has spawned a couple of very solid action scenes that are great. Then there are a few passages where the film tries to look cool and like a spy film, and it somehow just doesn't work. But despite all the shallowness and Damon's wooden acting, the civilian level of the "agent without a past" is truly fine, and certainly not without influence regarding the future of Agent 007. I didn't quite understand the magic tricks with the alternative ending, which the creators were planning after 9/11. It's so stupidly correct that I'm honestly glad it didn't make it into the serious version of the film. After all, even the statement of one of the creators that after 9/11, it looked like there would be no more explosions in films is sufficiently telling. Times change, while Agent Bourne and explosions remain. After the first part of the trilogy, I would say: it's pretty good. (02/14/2008)

A lively spy thriller and, despite being the second adaptation (the first was a two-part adaptation with Richard Chamberlain), it has a certain charm. Certainly better than a lot of action/spy movies I have seen lately (and I’ve seen perhaps too many). Just a shame that the theme has been rather over-used and so you know exactly what to expect and when to expect it. Damon is absolutely convincing and it is easy to “be fooled into thinking" that he is just a harmless young man with a pleasant face and his subsequent rebirth into a killer is just perfect. Too bad that in the second half the movie becomes loses a little of the atmospheric and pace of the first half. It is a crying shame that the director didn’t give Powell’s great soundtrack more of a chance to make a mark. The entire movie is spoiled by the final over the top jump; this belongs more in “triple-x" movies than in anything trying to be a little serious. Simply a good attempt at a genre piece that walks its own original path. Until the finale, that is. (08/03/2004)