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The Bourne Identity (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

The Bourne Identity (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: An unfortunate failure
Review: Ok, so I was hoping that the screen writers would following the story line of the book a little bit more, but I was willing to let "artistic license" not ruin the movie, IF they wrote a compelling story with good dialogue.

"UH, do you have a hat or a scarf?"
"what?!, to, uh dahh, cover my hair?"
"yeah, just untill we can do something about it"

French police: "What?! Three hours and NO prints?"

My God! We must have a master spy on our hands, clever enough to wipe down his prints off the steering wheel...

Then the hot sexy scene, thrown in just for laughs, The spy that can disarm the police at will, disappear in seconds, and leap tall buildings in a single bound (but can't hold on to a sack filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars and all his id) graps the scissors and starts hacking at the young supple hottie costar's hair. In minutes she looks like she just spent four hours and a couple of C-notes in a Beverly Hills Salon and they of course proceed to make hot passionate love (off screen).

The movie is very loosely based on the book (a guy who can't remember who he is finds himself being hunted down and it turns out he can kill with ease). The dialouge is labored through out:

"Are you alone?----tell me!"
Blank stare.
"Are you alone?"
"I work alone, just like you, hey, do you still get the headaches?"
Blank stare.
"God what they did to us, the headaches, when I'm driving it feels like the back of my eyes are going to pop out, blah, blah, blah."

If you didn't read the book, or don't care if a movie based on a book totally changes just about everything, and you don't mind watching car chase scenes that look like they were copying (or worse spoofing) a 1970's Bond film and you can stand poor dialogue and a stupid plot, then go waste 7 or 8 bucks at the movies. I'd recommend waiting untill it hits the video store or better, when it's run for free on one of the networks in a year.
If you're interested in seeing this book developed into a decent screen play then buy or rent the tv miniseries.

This movie doesn't have an intelligent strong woman (a Canadian banker if I recall correctly) being taken hostage by Jason, it has a ditsy, young cutie American student hard up for cash hire herself out as a taxi driver to an obivous felon. It doesn't have Jason (the supposed bad guy) going back to rescue said Canadian from rapists, and thus proving he is good inside, instead it has young ditsy cutie getting herself deep into trouble. The Canadian decides to help Jason because she belives he is a good man and is falling in love with him, not so in the movie. The Canadian is smart enough to help Jason find his real identity, is able to stand by his side because she knows he has integrity. The movie really changes everything about the relationship between the two.

Anyway, in the real book, Jason was trained to flush out and kill Carlos the Jackal international killer. In the movie there is no Carlos. In the movie Jason has become an actual assasin, totally changing the entire premise and point of the book and making the character out to be something totally different. In the book, well, never mind, the movie is nothing like the book and just plain stunk. Don't waste your money. I'd give the movie a "D" and only rated it two stars out of sympathy and because the two stars are somewhat entertaining and I can't blame them for the foul script.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad
Review: This was a pretty enertaining action flick. It was about a hit man who lost his memory, and is now trying to find out why so many people are after him and why he has so many different passports. He is in for a lot of suprises. I reccomend it to any action film fan. The reason I only gave it three stars is because it had an awful ending and I didn't like the female lead.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Entertaining!
Review: I thought this movie was better than most give it credit in the previous reviews. It was certainly entertaining and at times clever. Damon is actually believable as a superspy with amnesia. The plot is intriguing. The action sequences are excellent. The car chase really is extraordinary - I don't remember a better car chase in any film I've seen. Additionally, the viewer is never really allowed to feel that Bourne is secure. There is little letup in the tension throughout the film. Suspenseful isn't really the right word, but you get the feeling that a bullet will tear through a wall at any minute, or an assassin is hiding behind the next tree, which kept me interested even through points which other reviewers considered slow.

I was also impressed with the fact that - with one disappointing exception (staircase scene), Damon really never does anything superhuman or impossible. People criticize the film for copying The Matrix, but I never really got that sense. He doesn't punch anyone and send them into a triple-twisting somersault. He doesn't leave the ground and kick three people before landing in a pretty pose. When he beats would-be assassins, it is often by doing something tricky or clever, sometimes athletic, but never superhuman. His skills are made more believable by some dialogue in which he explains to Potente what is going through his mind as he attempts to discover who he really is and why people are trying to kill him.

I was also unaware of and intrigued by the minor twist at the end of the film. The twist is unremarkable, but satisfying enough to differentiate it from the other spy-thriller films of this genre.

A good movie that was the best I've seen (between it, Star Wars, Minority Report, and Spider Man) on the big-screen this summer.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What a Farce!
Review: This movie did not even come close to the original plot of Robert Ludlum's excellent book. I can't beleive that Ludlum would be involved in the production of this movie, to have his name in the credits. What a farcical attempt at making a spy movie. Even "James Bond" movies have been better, all of them!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: DAMON IS NO ACTION HERO!!!
Review: I saw this film over the 4th of July weekend. My buddy wanted to see it and I had mixed feelings about seeing it.
After we left, I was wondering "What happened to my $[money]?"
Let's clear one thing up, Matt Damon is no action hero. The only people on that list should be: Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis, et al. Second of all, this was not as action packed as I expected it to be. My buddy was really hyped up about the film; before, during and after. I was slightly dumbfounded.
The car chase scene was good, not great. I do not know why they, the media, hyped it up. I have seen better car chases in Mad Max movies. The "girl" was annoying. Her overly laid back attitude was not becoming of an action film. She tended to slow things down. But I guess you need a female to spice up this "action packed" film.
The movie starts out in the Meditteranean Sea. Our hapless hero, Matt Damon, is resuced by a fishing boat. He is alive despite the bullets in his back. He finally wakes up and does not know who or what he is. Then when they dock, he is homeless. He finds himself sleeping on a bench, the suspense is building, and then attacks two police officers just because they ask him for papers. Then he finds himself being chased by the authorities. He goes to the American Embassay and sees a woman being harrassed by the people behind the partition (just like at the DMV). He eventually hires her to drive him to Paris for $20,000. Reluctantly, why?, she takes the money. He goes to a bank, not knowing why he has to, and discovers his identity, or identities. He starts to question who and what he is while being attacked and hunted by other CIA operatives.
But the highlight of the whole boring ordeal is that car chase scene. I waited for the action to take place, but it never did. The only action scene worth mentioning was the fight scene between Matt and somebody attacking him in his Paris apartment.
Then there was the scene out in the snow, on the property of the friend of the girl. That is where Matt seems to have a revelation about what he is.
Near the close of the film, there is another assassin getting reading to take out his target. What I was confused about is that the target is the guy who has been sending out men to kill Jason Bourne. I still was not too sure as to why he was killed. In the spy business, it is "kill or be killed." He was doing his job by dispatching men to kill Jason. But I guess since he failed the entire mission, killing a French speaking African (I think-but then again it was never too clear), then his death is justified. He became the target. Then the movie ends. Of course not without Jason finally getting the girl.
Overall, this movie was a disappointment. Definately not worth the price of a adult ticket. I would not see this movie again. James Bond films are a lot more fun and have significantly more action than this "spy-thriller".
I recommend you wait for the DVD or video.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: HORRIBLE!!
Review: The only thing that this movie and the book have in common is the name Jason Bourne. It does not follow the chronological order of the book. The name Carlos the Jackal is NOT even mentioned. They do not mention that Marie is a PHD, and she willingly joins him. He tells her everything from the get go. In the book he kidnaps her and does not come clean until near the end. The closing scene in the book at the safe house is not even in the movie. Based on this movie they have no intention of doing the next two books. It is almost impossible. This movie is as far away from the book as it can get.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: GUY FLICK ALL THE WAY
Review: It is my experience that women won't like the movie too much unless they enjoy gazing at Matt Damon for 2 hours. Guys on the other hand get it all...spider-man like moves, james-bond like charisma, and a girl who gets more beautiful with each scene. My Wife said "what was the point?"...I said "the point was to entertain...which it did!" The truth is that critics may be thinking "As if any of this is believable.."....maybe it's not, but if it was...it wouldn't be worth putting on the screen in my opinion...so maybe it's not the best flick...but it's the kind of movie I plan to own and watch over and over and over...because it's S-o-o-o-o exciting!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Matt Damon at his best
Review: I just loved this movie. We saw it on the release date and then a week later. Matt Damon really sells the role and it was a pleasure watching him on screen. The plot is much more humane than your typical action adventure film--which I usually avoid. If you love to watch Matt Damon look good and act good you will love this film too. I especially like that the "lady" wasn't a helpless, dumb blonde but teaches Jason Bourne some things too. While it isn't the movie of the year it is highly memorable.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Did Anybody Involved in This Project Read the Book?
Review: I ordinarily like Matt Damon movies, but this one was an exception. I didn't like it at all. Furthermore, it was NOT "The Bourne Identity."

If you go to this movie expecting Robert Ludlum, you're going to be sadly disappointed. There's very little connection between his book and this movie. It should have just been titled "The Spy with Amnesia."

If you want to see the real thing, order the video or the DVD of the 1988 TV miniseries with Richard Chamberlin. That version is real Robert Ludlum.

I like Matt Damon, but Robert Ludlum and I go back over years and years. I don't recommend this movie to anyone who reads Ludlum faithfully. It does little justice to his book and no justice to his memory.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This Summer Matt is in "Cruise Control"
Review: With all the "New Action Heroes" to content with this summer, who knew that Matt was a natural?!?!

Jason Bourne (Damon) is a CIA assassin who has no recollection of his identity including his name and his dreaded profession. What's even more astonishing to him is his ability to do amazing athletic moves and his knowledge of information that the average person would have no use for. His quick thinking get's him a ride to Paris by a young lady he meets in the Swiss DMV. The Drama, Action, Suspense starts from the beginning and never lets up. It's touch of romance adds a nice dimension as well. The most noticable thing that was lacking (hence minus 1 star) was the supporting cast. They offered No Support!

I really enjoyed Matt Damon in this role. He has the style, the look and the agility to be a viable action hero. I hope he plans to make more movies such as this soon.


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