The Bourne Identity

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height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00003CXXM/reelmoviecriticc"> The Bourne Identity on DVD</A>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> The Bourne Identity</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>êêê</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Rating</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> PG-13 for violence and some language</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Director</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Doug Liman</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Now that I know, I want to forget</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Starring</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Matt Damon</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Franka Potente</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Chris Cooper</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Clive Owen</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Brian Cox</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> A man is discovered floating face up on the sea in a driving rain and is rescued by the crew of an Italian fishing boat. He's been shot in the back and is nearly dead. The bullets are removed along with a capsule embedded in his hip with a Swiss bank account number. He has no identity and is affected with amnesia. </div> <bR> <div> CIA Agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has no memory of anything, nothing from his past or even his name. Armed only with a small amount of cash given to him by the fishing crew to get to Zurich, Switzerland, the first inkling that he's not an average guy is his martial arts response to two policeman attempting to arrest him for being a vagrant with no ID. </div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, a CIA HQ official makes inquires to his field executives, who assure him that there is no "off the reservation" agency initiative to kill deposed African president Nykwana Wombosi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). One of the CIA officers, Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) will be appearing before a US Congressional committee. His Ollie North-type operative is Ted Conklin (Chris Cooper). When they converse, it's clear that Bourne failed in his mission to assassinate Wombosi and that they must both be found and assassinated, so that knowledge of the rogue mission never sees the light of day. Abbott and Conklin have a way of speaking allowing them to communicate while providing deniability and without committing perjury before Congress.</div> <div>  </div> <div> At the Swiss bank Jason discovers he has a safe deposit box containing cash, a gun, six passports and documents for multiple identities, along with a Paris address. When he realizes that he's being hunted, his CIA skills subconsciously kick into gear and he manages a daring escape from the bank. He convinces Marie (Franka Potente), a woman he had seen in the bank trying in vain to obtain cash, to drive him to Paris for $20,000. </div> <bR> <div> Jason and Marie are relentlessly pursued by a variety of assassins, most notably The Professor (Clive Owen). The more Jason learns about himself, the less he likes. The action scenes are great even though his martial arts skills are a little too slick. On the heels of recently released <B>"</B><I><B>Blade II,"</B></I> and the fact that actor Wesley Snipes is actually a black belt, it's hard not to make a comparison. There's a great car chase and by the end of the movie, Jason's powers are almost "<I><B>Spider Man" </B></I>like. </div> <bR> <div> The neat Hollywood ending detracts from the film, as well as the explosion of an LP gas tank and a fall down a staircase. These contrast to the generally believable action scenes. In all fairness to the fine actors and director of this film, I'll take something like this with it's above average acting (other than a strange cameo by Julia Stiles) and some over the top action to a <B>"</B><I><B>Fast and Furious"</B></I> or Schwarzenegger picture any day. Although it's rated PG-13, the subject matter in "Bourne" is much more mature and enjoyable for adults. </div> <bR> <div> We see the sinister side of the CIA, unlike just the good guys who perform unpleasant tasks in <I><B>"The Sum of All Fears." </B></I>The romance that develops between Jason and Marie is somewhat different because he is an all American guy who hooks up with a sexy European woman who knows how to handle the pressure, as Potente showed us in <I><B>"Run Lola Run" </B></I>and <I><B>"The Princess and the Warrior." </B></I>This is a pair I'd like to see acting together again.</div> <bR> <div> On the day George interviewed Matt Damon, newspaper headlines were digging into who at the CIA knew what and when about the events leading up to September 11, 2001. With so many people seeing the CIA in action here and in "Fears," I would not be surprised if the real life CIA stays in the spotlight for longer than the traditional 15 minutes of fame. We all deserve to know certain truths about our government, which is "we the people," and we just might get it. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>