Main cast: Matt Damon (Jason Bourne), Franka Potente (Marie Kreutz), Chris Cooper (Conklin), Clive Owen (The Professor), and Brian Cox (Ward Abbott)
Director: Doug Liman

Hmmph, Matt Damon makes a charisma-free spy. His Jason Bourne is unbelievably super-talented, linguistically, physically, mentally, and even sexually, yet at the same time he has not an iota of commanding presence at all. Matt Damon displays none of the screen presence he had in the past, so I am hard pressed to see what the fuss his character is all about.

Jason Bourne comes to consciousness in a shipping boat off the coast of Italy. He has no memory, but he has too many passports in too many different names and he can even every language (it seems). Who is he? He goes to France after rummaging through his possessions for clues, and pays a woman, Marie, to give him a ride. Soon the CIA is hot on their trail. Who is Bourne? Can he ever get back his memories? Will Marie and Bourne ever find time to bone? Did the CIA get all that boning on their cameras? How much is it being sold on eBay?

The Bourne Identity is basically a clean-cut guys-on-the-run caper with minimal shiny explosions and all. But Marie is useless – she functions solely as a love interest and a damsel in distress, while Bourne can do everything except command my attention. The CIA in this movie is amazingly efficient – they have cameras and bugs everywhere and anywhere. I’m amazed.

The CIA must have sponsored the making of the movie during their annual PR drive.

Moderately enjoyable yet cold and detached, this movie is okay. It won’t be one I would recommend paying for to watch, but it isn’t the worst I’ve watched either. Sort of like something in the middle, neither here nor there, really.