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The Bourne Identity

2002

Doug Liman

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox ...

7.2

107,826

Action. Mystery. Thriller A man is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea. When the ship's doctor examines the unconscious castaway, he discovers two bullet wounds and an implanted device that displays a bank account number. The amnesiac Bourne travels to Zurich and gains access to a safe-deposit box containing a gun, thousands of dollars and valid passports from numerous countries--each listing a different identity. Within minutes, Bourne is on the run from a ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"A skillful action movie about a plot that exists only to support a skillful action movie. (...) I kind of enjoyed (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Hank Sartin Chicago Reader	"In many ways this 2002 feature feels like a throwback to an earlier era of suspense films—yes, the action sequences are big, but they retain an intimate feeling that somehow makes the story matter."
		Todd McCarthy Variety	"A first-rate thriller with grit and intrigue to spare (...) Acting is unusually fine for this sort of genre piece"
		A. O. Scott The New York Times	"Liman's filmmaking has an old-fashioned rigor (...) There is nothing especially original here, but the car chases and cat-and-mouse assassin duels are nicely executed."
		Kirk Honeycutt The Hollywood Reporter	"[It] does capture the pulp verve of those 1960s Cold War thrillers"
		Emma Cochrane Empire	"Spectacular stunts, enough twists and turns to keep the audience guessing, and Matt Damon delivering as an action hero (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Matt Goldberg Collider	"Damon doesn’t know how to play the character (...) 'Bourne' works best when Marie leaves the story in the third act, and Bourne goes on his mission solo"
		Neil Smith BBC	"A fast-paced, unpredictable and edgy yarn that breathes new life into the espionage thriller genre (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Scott Tobias AV Club	"[It] may be a bloodless piece of thriller craftsmanship, but at a time when craft has become negligible, its efficiency and whipcrack timing are increasingly uncommon virtues."
		Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly	"The movie has a few whispers of intrigue, but at its heart lies a dispiriting paradox: The more that Jason Bourne learns about himself, the less arresting he seems."

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