Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Damon is Bourne
The more I see of Matt Damon, the more I'm impressed by his versatility. There's a lot of complexity behind that innocent face and he brings more of it to this movie.
Be forewarned that there is a fair amount of physical and weapons violence and some of it is close-up. Much of the fighting is tightly shot and intercut, which likely made the fight training for Damon a bit easier. He is believable, IMO, in the action sequences.
I really liked Franka Potente as Damon's unwitting partner and erstwhile love interest. There was a moment of chemistry between them early in the film which was not built on and, later, the interaction between them, romantically, seemed cliche'.....nothing against their acting skill; I just thought the timing was wrong. I am going to pick up Franka's recent film "Run Lola Run" to see more of this earthy German actress.
My only disappointment was in the character development of the goverment agents charged with eliminating Bourne as a threat...IMO, they came off as automatons, characters which I could develop no like or dislike for. One programmed agent, who Bourne was forced to kill when in the French countryside, showed the most humanity and gave me the most insight into the minds of these covert operatives. Their abilities appeared to be a bit over the top, but, hey, it's a movie *G*..Overall, well worth the ticket price, either matinee or evening.....and I think I'll pick up Ludlum's book to see how it compares...
Rating:  - Loved it, Loved it, Loved it.
A man is found floating in the sea near death. He has been shot twice and has a laser implanted in his hip with the number of a Swiss bank account. He doesn't remember his name or who he is. Slowly however he discovers that he has skills. And oh boy does he have SKILLS.The gist of the movie is described by others on this page so I will avoid repetition. However the reasons I like this movie are as follows: Matt Damon as Jason Bourne is cool calm and collected. I never would have pegged him for an action star but he carries his role admirably. You feel his confusion, his surprise and his disgust when he finds out who he is. He is also the calmest and most professional spy/protagonist I have seen in a long time.
The charaters modus operandii is refreshingly different. He reads a map to escape from a building, and values precision and speed over haste and unnessesary force (read hails of bullets). The female lead (Franke Potente rocks) is a solid individual. Most Hollywood action female leads are as follows; Screaming Ninny, Brave Toughy, or Spunky Girl. Here we have none of that, she is afraid but overcomes it, listens to directions, accepts her mistakes and provides a refreshing counterpoint to Damons paranoid spy, sometimes solving problems more simply and clearly than he can. The action sequences are fast moving and original with no unneccesary gunshots. The car chase is physically possible. Humor is sweet and not overdone. Peripheral characters are fleshed out enough to be interesting but not too much to distract from the main story. In a nutshell. I found this movie treated me like an intelligent viewer rather that following a formula but without becoming "arty" and trying too hard.
Rating:  - Matt is Bourne for Action...
Starring Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) Franke Potente (Run, Lola Run!) and directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, Go), this action thriller, based on the Robert Ludlum novel, is a remake of a made-for-tv movie starring Richard Chamberlain. I haven't seen the telefilm yet, but I can't imagine it being better than this 'modern' version. The film has weaknesses though. Although the story moves right along with all the brevity and ferociousness of an action thriller, I can't help feel like it's all phony sometimes. The little nuances that make a solid thriller move effortlessly and in a believeable way, like Sum of All Fears or Crimson Tide or even a Bond film, seems to be missing here. An example was a scene where a foe of Bourne's decides he can't kill him and throws himself out a window in such a way that the audience explodes in laughter. But this was not a 'funny' scene and that made me uncomfortable with the rest of the film. Liman should stick to comedies and gen 'xer films. He does them quite well. ***1/2 stars.
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