From Jan. 6-14, we’re looking back at the five films of the “Bourne” series, so prepare to have your memory refreshed. First up is “The Bourne Identity” (2002):
Amnesiaction hero
If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen action/spy movies where you lose track of what’s going on. That makes Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne easy to sympathize with in “The Bourne Identity” because he has amnesia. It proves to be a winning concept in this first of the five-film saga because Damon is such an easy-to-like actor.
And honestly, the plot isn’t terribly hard to follow; in a way, it boils down the genre touchstones to their most basic form: Bourne is on the run from people who want to kill him, and he uses his skills and knowledge to evade and beat them.
Robert Ludlum’s 1980 book had already been adapted into a 1988 TV movie, but director Doug Liman’s “Bourne Identity” establishes its own identity. It ended up influencing two other big action franchises to emphasize practical effects and stunts at a time when reliance on CGI was becoming ubiquitous.
Back to basics in stuntwork
We’d begin to see the influence on “Mission: Impossible III” and especially the James Bond relaunch “Casino Royale,” both in 2006. (The CGI-heavy path would continue to be forged by the likes of the “Transformers” films, of course. But at least that wasn’t our only option.)
A highlight in “The Bourne Identity” is one of those classic wrong-way car chases through Zurich, with Jason pushing a boxy little car to its limit.
No apparent CGI is used, and every dodge and crash and biker thrown from his cycle looks like it would in real life. It’s not the highest-speed pursuit ever, but editor Saar Klein shows that realistic-looking chases can be thrilling, something that was also proven in 1998’s “Ronin.”
Not merely an influence on established sagas, “Bourne” itself became a big action franchise for Damon, who had broken through in 1997 with “Good Will Hunting” en route to the A list. Bourne has an easy, comfortable presence as his fighting skills, ability to scan rooms and knack for memorizing information comes naturally. Thus he’s able to devote his anxiety toward the question of his identity.
Excellent cast
Damon has good chemistry across from Franka Potente; the versatile actress would play a terrifying hitwoman a decade later on TV’s “The Bridge,” but here she’s Marie, a desperately poor Swiss who can’t secure a visa to America. Marie agrees to Jason’s unusual request for a ride from Zurich to Paris in exchange for $20K.
The excellent cast is rounded out by Chris Cooper and Brian Cox as Bourne’s apparent former handlers at the deep US government agency Treadstone, Julia Stiles as a Treadstone tech agent who I would’ve liked to see do more (although she is in the sequels, I see), and Clive Owen as a sniper labeled The Professor in the credits.
When Bourne encounters this fellow assassin in a showdown in the field, The Professor vaguely laments his own job, adding more mystery to the nature of Bourne’s work.
They’ll always have Paris
“The Bourne Identity” always looks great without being showy, with a lot of the action taking place in Paris. The visuals are a bonus to the sharp screenplay by Tony Gilroy and W. Blake Herron; I love the fact that I’m never lost amid all the intrigue. And yet it is intriguing as we – along with Jason himself – wonder who Jason is, what his profession is, who he works for, etc.
Even as we’re in the dark, “Bourne” is wish fulfillment. Who wouldn’t want to wake up with all kinds of skills, as if they were programmed into you?
And as we move further into this century where your “papers” are more and more in demand from government agents, Jason’s ability to pull out appropriate passports and/or cash to move around the world shows a tantalizing, fantastical amount of freedom.
We’re right there with Jason as he first seeks his identity and later paves his own path regardless of who he was before his memory loss – plus the film leaves a lot more to be learned in the sequels. The action is slightly tame by today’s standards, as we’ve seen some “Bonds” and “M:Is” take the baton and zoom away with it.
But “The Bourne Identity’s” commitment to practical stunts makes it hard to forget its place in film history.