The Bourne Identity
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~Thinking Man's Action Flick~
By Todd Karella
June 20, 2002
This review was originally printed in The Daily Pilot, an insert in the Los Angeles Times.  Click here to see scan of original article.
  Matt Damon makes his bid for the action hero throne in The Bourne Identity. But even though the movie has its fair share of action scenes and a great car chase through the streets of Paris, it lacks several key elements to be considered an action movie.
   There is no catch phrase, like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back," or any other unintelligible dialogue that Sylvester Stallone might throw in. Without something catchy to annoy our friends on a daily basis, we might actually be forced to discuss the plot and speak in sentences.
   As action movies rarely have plots, and even fewer still have characters who speak in sentences, it's a darn good thing this movie is the exception.
   The movie starts with an unconscious Damon being pulled out of the ocean by a fishing boat. We quickly find out that he's got two bullets and some kind of embedded chip in his back. It seems that memorizing your bank account number is a little more difficult and painful than having it surgically implanted in your body.
   This information, while the one weak plot point, is quite important when he awakens with amnesia. Following the bank account number to Switzerland, the man without an identity discovers a safety deposit box filled with cash, passports and a gun.
   After beating up a few policeman and taking on the American embassy, he finds himself paying Marie (Franka Potente) $20,000 to drive him to Paris to look up the address found on his American passport under the name of Jason Bourne.
   Reluctant at first but needing the money, she decides to take him up on his offer.
   Making the journey, the two become the unknowing targets of a secret government agency that is hunting them down.
   The movie has the feel of an older classic espionage movie, and its European location gives it a unique flavor.
   The fight scenes are well choreographed and done without the grandiose ordeal and flashy fighting styles of today's films, making it a little grittier and different than the norm.
   While never predictable, the ending stays true to the rest of the film, keeping the suspense and refusing to fall prey to the cliché. Not truly an action flick, The Bourne Identity is certainly a classic.