The Bourne Identity

By chance I managed to get my hands on the entire Bourne trilogy. So, of course, I started with The Bourne Identity. I never really had the greatest interest to watch this movie, as I have never really been a huge fan of Matt Damon. But I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this movie.
When a body is recovered at sea still alive, the mystery man (Matt Damon) seems to have forgotten everything in life, including who he was. Eventually he begins to remember smaller details in life and soon finds out that his name was Jason Bourne. What he doesn't like is that a gun and fake passports also belong to him. Now Bourne, and his new friend, Marie Helena Kreutz (Franka Potente) travel from country to country in search of his new identity. But, someone else is not happy to see him alive, and is frantically trying to track him down.

This film never really lets up on being a full-on explosive action film. From the word go, it is an adrenaline filled thrill ride, but never seems to lose it's way or become lost in all the gun fights and car chases. That's a good thing, and some of the action sequences are thrillingly memorable as they aren't all the same as the blockbuster action sequences we are used to.

Matt Damon does amazingly well as the believable action hero. I mean, sure, this guy does turn up out of no-where and can bash the brains out of several people at once, but the audience can still believe in him and connect with him on a different level. This film serves as a thrilling start to an awesome trilogy. As some may say, the trilogy really does start with a 'bang'.

A great start to the trilogy, with a great performance from Damon as Bourne. Clever and inventive, this is the modernized and smarter version of Bond we have been waiting to see.

8/10