I have just finished watching the 2002 action thriller, The Bourne Identity. It is actually the first time I have seen this movie, and I can’t believe it’s taken so long to finally watch it, because its a bloody good film.
The Bourne Identity stars, Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Clive Owen, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, Gabriel Mann, Walton Goggins, among many others.
It was written by Tony Gilroy and W. Blake Herron, based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, and directed by Doug Liman. Doug Liman has also directed the movies, Chaos Walking, Locked Down, American Made, The Wall, Edge of Tomorrow, Fair Game, Jumper, Mr and Mrs Smith, Go, Swingers, and Getting In, plus episodes of numerous TV shows.
On a stormy night, a young man is pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea by the crew of a fishing boat. Thinking the young man is dead, a curious fisherman with a scalpel finds two bullets in his back and a miniature laser device in his hip. The laser reveals a Swiss bank account number. But he isn’t dead, and soon finds himself in Zurich. In the bank vault the young man discovers his name is Jason Bourne.
In addition, he finds a baffling pile of different passports, all with his picture, and a huge pile of cash, plus a gun. He takes the money and the passports, but leaves the gun. In the U.S. Embassy, Jason Bourne discovers a travel partner in a young woman called Marie, along with the fact that someone wants to kill him. Armed with a bag of money and mysterious martial arts skills, with Marie by his side, Bourne scours Paris for clues about his identity and past life… and finds himself in the middle of two assassination plots masterminded by the CIA.
The Bluray I watched was released by Universal Studios, and was actually part of a Bluray boxset called Films That Define A Decade: 00s, containing the films The 8 Mile, Shaun of the Dead, Mamma Mia, and of course The Bourne Identity. The disc is full of extras; The Ludlum Identity featurette, The Ludlum Supremacy featurette, The Ludlum Ultimatum featurette, an alternative opening scene and an alternative ending scene, deleted scenes, extended farmhouse scene, The Birth of The Bourne Identity featurette, The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum featurette, an interview with co-writer Tony Gilroy, From Identity to Supremacy: Jason & Marie featurette, The Bourne Diagnosis featurette, Cloak and Daggers: Covert Ops featurette, Inside a fight sequence feature, the Moby music video for the song Extreme Ways, and feature commentary with the director Doug Liman. A massive selection of extras, which I haven’t looked at yet, but I will at some point. The picture and sound quality of the Bluray was fantastic.
It’s a pretty good movie, beautifully shot, well written, with great performances from the cast and impressive action sequences. I enjoyed every minute of it, and I highly recommend it. It contains moderate violence, mild language, and no sex or nudity but mild references. 5 out of 5.
Laybourne's Movie Experience 
Can’t get enough of Jason Bourne, 007 or James Bond, assassins, spies or espionage … there’s almost too much on the menu for those of us hooked on absorbing and addictive espionage novels to find time for reading in a safe house far away from the tsunami of grim news we face in real life now. For starters there are fictional thrillers like Len Deighton’s noir espionage masterpiece Funeral in Berlin. As for the main course, there are down to earth, raw and noir, often curious fact based Cold War thrillers you’ll never put down such as Bill Fairclough’s Beyond Enkription in The Burlington Files series or Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and the Traitor. As for dessert, maybe something laced with the distinctly sardonic and singular humour of Slow Horses from the Slough House ‘stables’ by Mick Herron. We are spoilt for choice especially if you’re not bonded solely to Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum.
LikeLiked by 1 person