Medusan verkko

A great spy action movie with very nice atmosphere and likeable heroes. I don’t know if I have anything to complain about, everything works as it should. It was of course close to five stars, but the overall impression is not strong enough, maybe next time… I’m already looking forward to the sequel. (27.08.2008)

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. (03.08.2004)

A traditionally straightforward espionage ride in which director Doug Liman delivers several top-notch action sequences according to modern audience demands. However, the film also relies on a captivating plot that, compared to the original book, may come up short, but in the case of this film, I'm willing to tolerate it because of the brisk pace, which briefly eases in the second third but then picks up full speed again in the end and manages to engulf the viewer throughout the full two-hour runtime. The careful work with the camera, which perfectly captures the action scenes, and the use of a cold color filter that complements the slowly snowing Paris, along with the excellent musical accompaniment by John Powell, are just a few of the film's strengths. Not to mention the precise performances by the cast, where although a young Matt Damon might raise some eyebrows, his minimalist expressions suit the role perfectly. One minor criticism could be directed at the occasional "late" editing, which reveals the stuntmen "catching" falls. However, even after seeing the film more than ten times, it's impossible not to give The Bourne Identity a perfect review with a smile on my face. (21.01.2005)

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. (14.02.2008)

Matt Damon, with his boyish appearance, doesn't fit into the super agent type, at first glance he looks like an ordinary dude, but when he reveals his fighting skills, you can see what a mistake that impression is. It makes you root for him all the more and relate to him. A superb thriller that does without exploding cars and piled-up corpses. The hand-to-hand fight in Bourne's apartment is one of the best I've seen so far. And not to mention John Powell's great soundtrack would be an unforgivable sin. PS: After a repeat viewing I am forced to throw in the fifth star, this likeable "action flick" has everything such a film requires. And to top it off with a polished script, with some interesting original moments. (02.03.2003)