Classic Review: The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bourne series were really defined by the inventive camera work by director Paul Greengrass and director of photography Oliver Wood to a point where we end up forgetting the great work done by Doug Liman in the first instalment of the series. Greengrass and Wood created a kinetic experience with their films, while Liman made a more classic and stylish film, a perfect introduction film for the character.

The Bourne Identity starts with a man (Damon) is found adrift on the ocean, with two bullets on his back and a chip implanted in his hips. When he wakes up, he doesn’t remember anything about himself, and he sets out to discover who he truly is. He follows the only clue he’s got to a safety vault at a bank, where he finds out his name, Jason Bourne, a bunch of passports, a lot of money and a gun. He doesn’t even have time to figure out what all of that was, and police comes for him. On the run he bumps into a woman named Marie (Potente) who helps him, and they begin to flee for their lives, knowing they are being chased by a highly organized and influential group.

The Bourne series exploded into the stratosphere with the second installment, The Bourne Supremacy. The reason was that Supremacy set the tone not only for the Bourne series alone, but for the action films that came after. So, people tend to ignore the existence of Identity as it was not as good as the following ones. However, this is a mistake as The Bourne Identity is not only a great action thriller and an exciting spy film but also a very good character driven story.

Liman was a perfect choice of a director for The Bourne Identity, bringing his natural coolness to the story. The scenes and the staging are fantastic, creating a fantastic mood for the entire film. What makes the story so compelling is that we and Bourne are the same: we have no idea what’s coming up next. We are not highly trained assassins, and we would not respond the same way, but we are lost just the same. Not only that, but we connect with Marie just the same. She is thrown into the craziness of Bourne’s world without knowing what’s happening and we are startled just as she is.

Liman chose his players very intelligently; both Damon and Potente give very grounded, believable performances, creating two characters we deeply connect with. We care for Bourne and we bond with him in such a way that when we see what he can do, and we imagine what he must have done in his life, we don’t turn away from him, on the contrary, we care even more. Of course, having Damon, an actor who masters the ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances, is perfect casting. Potente on the other hand, brings a lot more personality to the tiring side girl, creating a very well-drawn character, grounding her and the entire craziness of the story.

Being and action thriller, The Bourne Identity doesn’t disappoint; Liman manages to create a very tense atmosphere, one that resembles the 70’s thrillers a bit. There is always something lurking, something hidden in the shadows. The slower scenes are actually even better than the fast-paced ones. Liman takes his time in those moments to build tension with remaining fixed on his actors, and that creates a great sense of uncertainties, like the moment Bourne has to climb down a building or when he senses there’s someone in his apartment. The cherry on the top is the supporting cast; Julia Stiles doesn’t do much here as Nicolette, but she has a more substantial character in the sequels. Cooper, Clive Owen, and Brian Cox are also fantastic foes to Bourne and bring their A game to the film.

The Bourne Identity is a fantastic spy thriller and totally deserves our attention. And the score is very, very cool too.

still courtesy of Universal Pictures

If you like this review, look me up on Instagram for more suggestions.

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

leandromatos1981