On B List of Movie Reviews

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The Bourne Identity (2002)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 3/03, 8/23

BourneI
8/23: In spite of being written almost from scratch, the remake of The Bourne Identity is passable enough.

Matt Damon accomplishes what Richard Chamberlain couldn't do: not be boring. As a result, it's an easy movie to swallow. That's because it keeps moving without a snag on the way. The international flavor is nicely applied which is a slight upgrade over the telefilm's setting.

However, the plot only makes sense if Jason Bourne turned out to be a robot. Otherwise, it's not possible because he got shot in the back twice, behaved like a machine, performed kung-fu moves mechanically, fell down several flights atop a body and walked away without a serious injury, and had a weird scene or two with Franka Potente. For a minute, Chris Cooper copies what Tommy Lee Jones did in The Fugitive by barking out commands in a similar manner.

All in all, The Bourne Identity may be somewhat bland, but it's a decent actioner.