Rating of
3/4
"The Bourne Identity" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 12/23/11
A fishing vessel rescues a bullet-riddled amnesiac from the ocean and upon reaching shore, he discovers that not only is he a world class ass kicker but nearly every government agency in the world seems to want him dead. Along with Ronin, The Bourne Identity heralded a new era of high octane grittiness for the action thriller and a decade on, it actually stands up pretty well. Of course the "hi tec" aspects look a little dated, but it's still a breathlessly exciting conspiracy thriller that dispenses with any irrelevances and gets straight down to the bare bones of a tire screeching, bone crunching rollercoaster ride. Matt Damon is the perfect combination of hard case and bemused victim and Franka Potente makes a much more interesting romantic interest than the generic dead-eyed bimbette that usually adorns this kind of thing. It all looks a bit familiar in this day and age, but this was one of the originals and is still the best Bourne film in my opinion.