The Bourne Identity, directed by Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) is a mildly satisfying action film starring the heartthrob Matt Damon (Ocean's Eleven, The Talented Mr. Ripley). Damon is Jason Bourne...but he doesn't know that. The movie starts out with him floating face-down in the Mediterranean Sea, on the brink of death. Some fishermen spot him and rescue him. Bourne eventually recovers and discovers that he has been shot two times in the back, has a small laser pointer embedded in his hip (which a fisherman removes), and total amnesia. The laser pointer projects the name of a bank and an account number, which leads Bourne to a safe deposit box containing passports (here, he finds out his name, but not his identity), money in different currencies (to fund the adventures he is about to have), and a gun. It doesn't take long before Bourne realizes that an organization is trying to kill him. On a quest to find out who he is while saving his own butt, Bourne manages to get a woman named Marie (Franka Potente [Blow, Run Lola Run]) mixed up in his mess.

What follows is the typical Hollywood action "fugitive" story. Marie is obviously there to give Matt Damon someone to talk to and an excuse to take off his tank top. The tag-along female seems to be a required character in Hollywood action films. As hinted, the movie is very formulaic, which renders it predictable and a little boring. The big redeeming quality is the action. Hand-to-hand combat, shootouts, car chases, it's all there -- and well done. Supposedly, though Bourne doesn't remember anything about his past, he retains the skills he has acquired in his life: extraordinary fighting skills, mastery of infiltration and escape techniques, amazing driving abilities, and an unrealistic "Spider-sense" that always seems to alert our hero to impending danger. Everything will be going fine and dandy until Bourne suddenly jerks his head around in an alert manner, warns whoever's nearby, and prepares for battle. I suppose this instinctual alertness and propensity for noticing details is something that is common in....oh wait, I'm not supposed to tell you what Jason Bourne is (but surely you can make an educated guess by now). Matt Damon makes a good action hero; he looks tough, yet clever.

Overall, the movie is okay. The plot is hackneyed and the dialogue is predictable. Movies like these always have that scene where a man's yelling at the hero and there are flashbacks and everything that was confusing comes together. The audience lets out a collective "Aha!" and nods at the ingenuity of the film. There's none of that in this film. There's a scene like that, but it doesn't reveal anything that the audience has already figured out. So, yeah, nothing too mindblowing in this film. There are probably some plot holes to boot (such as how did Bourne survive two gunshots to the back and being tossed out to sea?). But you can still enjoy it for what it is, which is a summer Hollywood action movie. If you see this film and like it, you can look foward to future Bond, I mean, Bourne films. The Bourne films are based on a trilogy of novels written by Robert Ludlum.

Rated PG-13 for violence and some mild language
In theaters June 14
Also appearing in the film: Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles


Recommended: Yes