HEFE'S REVIEW OF:
THE BOURNE IDENTITY

OPENING THOUGHTS

    Let me think back to the feelings I had when I was convinced to see this movie. I remember thinking, that Matt Damon is kind of a nancy, how the fuck is he supposed to be an action spy? But as with most movies I watched it anyway, would my feelings betray me?

ACTING

    MATT DAMON seriously impressed me with this movie. This is the movie where I stopped only thinking of Matt Damon as the effeminate counterpart of Ben Affleck. Since then he has actually surpassed Affleck as an actor I believe, showing he can be diverse, and as he showed here, showing that he can kick some ass if they ever put baby in a corner.
    FRANKA POTENTE sounds like a man's name, and here is the kicker, she looks like a man too. Never have I seen such a square jaw on lady. It is weird though, I liked her acting in Run Lola Run, but I was very disappointed in her performance in this movie. She didn't ruin the film by any means, but she just didn't seem to act very well. Maybe it was just because she was uncomfortable speaking English instead of angry, or German, or whatever it is called.
    CLIVE OWEN mostly scowled through a pair of European glasses the whole movie. He really wasn't in the film very much, he just showed up at random times and would scowl at Matt Damon. I bet Ben Affleck does that all of the time now.
    ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE was great in this movie. I mean not stand up and start masturbating good, but he put in a solid performance, and he does this thing with eyes when he puts on his angry face that looks like he might rip off your leg and eat if you displease him. Aside from having a name that takes me about 20 minutes type, he was also Mr. Echo on Lost, a TV show of which I am a big fan, and I have to say I will miss him on the show. But I am glad that I can watch him anytime in The Bourne Identity, of course this character doesn't bode much better than is his character in Lost did.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    DOUG LIMAN did an excellent job with the direction of this film. I think he reinvented the spy genre completely. Don't get me wrong, I will always love James Bond movies, but I think almost everyone could agree that they are poorly made from a film standpoint. This was a more toned down realistic spy thriller. It was slow when it needed to be slow and lightening quick when it needed to be. No sped up action sequences here. Excellent work!
    TONY GILROY and WILLIAM BLAKE HERRON wrote the script for this film and having not read the book I can't say if it is an accurate portrayal or not, in fact from what I understand they didn't read the book either but based the screenplay off of an overview written by Doug Liman. Whatever they did it worked, because this script came off as intelligent, well paced, and with very little use of the word "potty".

THE VERDICT

    This is a great action movie and a great spy movie as well. From what I hear Casino Royal is a lot more similar to this movie than prior Bond films have been. So perhaps it is inspiring the genre to improve for the better. Oh and if you like car chases, this has one of the better ones I have seen in recent years! I never would have thought it, but Matt Damon can kick some ass, even if all he can do is say "Matt Damon".
 
 

RATING: B +

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