On B List of Movie Reviews

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The Bourne Identity (1988)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 8/23

8/23: For a long while, I didn't know there was a telefilm for The Bourne Identity.

Between the original and the remake, the former is close to Robert Ludlum's book while the latter is mostly made-up. That being said, it still doesn't mean the original is better. In fact, it's totally average and a non-thriller at that.

The trouble is everything, but I like the location shots. 1988 was the year that Die Hard came out, and this means The Bourne Identity is dated in comparison. It shouldn't have been three hours long; a lot of parts need to be taken out to speed things up.

Richard Chamberlain is no better than Matt Damon. He's boring. So is Jaclyn Smith who's pain in the ass as the querulous Marie St. Jacques. At first, she's screaming and crying. Then, it's all good, and they have a silly love scene. Now, she's back to her whiny self. In short, her behavior has been back and forth a lot.

What's not clear to me is: is David Webb also Jason Bourne? I don't think the movie answered the question. It turns out, in the book, he killed a double agent named Jason Bourne and thereafter took his name prior to being recruited by Treadstone. No matter how hard David or Marie the "therapist" tries to tell me he's no assassin, he's really an assassin as evidenced by the number of kills thus far.

All in all, I prefer the Matt Damon version over the telefilm for The Bourne Identity.

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